Date A Live:Tập 1 Chương 2

Chapter 2: Bắt đầu trò chơiluyện tập nào

Phần 1

—Đã lâu rồi nhỉ.

Giọng nói ấy cứ văng vẳng trong đầu tôi.

Một giọng nói rất quen thuộc.

—Cuối cùng, cuối cùng thì chúng ta cũng gặp lại nhau, ***.

Một giọng nói ấm áp và rất đỗi thân thương.

—Em vui lắm, chỉ một chút nữa thôi. Xin hãy đợi, một chút nữa thôi.

‘Em là ai’, tôi hỏi, nhưng không có tiếng trả lời.

—Em sẽ không xa anh nữa đâu. Em sẽ không mắc lỗi nữa đâu. Vì thế nên…

Và, giọng nói bí ẩn kia chợt biến mất.

Phần 2

“…Hộc!”

Shidou tỉnh dậy,

“Uwahh!”

Và ngay lập tức hét lên.

Cũng phải thôi. Dù sao thì, cậu đang bị một người phụ nữ lạ mặt, một tay giữ mi mắt cậu, tay kia cầm một thứ giống như một cái đèn pin rọi vào mắt kia mà.

“…Ưm? Cậu ta tỉnh rồi.”

Người phụ nữ với khuôn mặt thiếu ngủ đó nói với giọng bình thản và thờ ơ.

Mặt cô ấy kề sát mặt Shidou, có vẻ là do cô đang kiểm tra đồng tử khi cậu bất tỉnh. Cậu thoáng ngửi thấy một mùi hương thoang thoảng, có thể là mùi dầu gội của cô.

“C, C-C-C-C-CÔ LÀ AI?”

“…Ưm, aah.”

Vẫn ở trong trạng thái mơ màng, cô ấy đứng dậy, vuốt nhẹ mái tóc qua một bên.

Cậu dễ dàng nhìn rõ cả người cô với khoảng cách này.

Cô ấy khoảng 20 tuổi, mặc một bộ quần áo trong rất giống một bộ quân phục. Tóc rối bù, mắt được trang điểm bằng những quầng thâm đen dày, và con gấu nhồi bông đầy sẹo đang ló đầu ra khỏi túi áo, đó là tất cả những gì đặc trưng mà cậu thấy được.

“…Tôi là Phân tích viên, Murasame Reine. Không may là y tá không có ở đây.—Nhưng đừng lo. Mặc dù không có bằng y khoa, nhưng tôi vẫn có thể thực hiện một số kỹ năng sơ cứu thông thường.”

“…”

Cậu bắt đầu cảm thấy lo lắng.

Vì, cậu thấy Reine có vẻ còn yếu hơn mình.

Chỉ cần nghiêng đầu cũng đủ làm cả người cô ấy lảo đảo.

Shidou ngồi dậy, nhớ lại những gì Reine vừa nói.

“—Đây là?”

Cậu hỏi trong lúc nhìn xung quanh.

Lúc nãy cậu đã ngủ trên một chiếc giường sắt. Xung quanh nó là một tấm màn trắng thay cho vách ngăn. Nó giống như phòng y tế của một trường học.

Tuy vậy, trần nhà có vẻ khá kỳ quặc. Cậu có thể thấy những ống dẫn và hệ thống điện ở đó.

“Đ-Đây là, đâu…”

“…À, đây là phòng y tế của <Franxinus>. Cậu đã bất tỉnh, nên chúng tôi đưa cậu tới đây.”

“<Franxinus>…? Bất tỉnh…a—”

Đúng rồi, cậu đã bị kẹt trong trận chiến giữa cô gái bí ẩn và Origami, và cậu đã bị hạ gục.

“…Anou, tôi có thể hỏi cái này được không? Có quá nhiều thứ khó hiểu đang xảy ra…”

Shidou gãi gãi đầu.

Tuy vậy, Reine không trả lời, mà chỉ quay đầu đi.

“A–chờ đã…”

“…Theo tôi. Tôi muốn cậu gặp một người. …Tôi biết là cậu có rất nhiều câu hỏi, nhưng tôi không giỏi giải thích lắm. Cậu nên hỏi người đó thì hơn.”

Cô kéo tấm màn ra. Căn phòng khá rộng. Có sáu cái giường xếp kề nhau, và ở cuối phòng là một số thiết bị y tế mà cậu không biết. Reine hướng về phía cánh cửa, loạng choạng bước đi.

Ngay lập tức, cô mất thăng bằng, và với một tiếng *rầm*, đầu cô va vào bức tường.

“! C-Cô có sao không?”

“…Ư ư ư.”

Cô vẫn chưa té. Reine rên lên, và dựa người vào bức tường.

“…Aah, xin lỗi. Dạo gần đây tôi không được ngủ đủ giấc.”

“L-Lần cuối cô ngủ là khi nào vậy.”

Cậu hỏi, và Reine, sau khi suy nghĩ một chút, giơ ba ngón tay ra.

“Ba ngày. Dĩ nhiên là cô đang thiếu ngủ rồi.”

“…Ba mươi năm thì phải.”

“Hai con số chênh lệch quá rồi!”

Shidou đã chuẩn bị tinh thần để nghe câu trả lời ba tuần, nhưng cậu không ngờ đến trường hợp này.

Và nhất là, cô ấy trông còn trẻ hơn số năm không ngủ của mình.

“…Ừm, đúng là tôi không nhớ được lần cuối tôi ngủ là khi nào. Tôi bị hội chứng mất ngủ kinh niên thì phải.”

“V-Vậy à…”

“…Ừm. À, xin lỗi cậu. Đến giờ tôi phải uống thuốc rồi.”

Reine lục tìm trong túi, và lấy ra một lọ thuốc.

Và cô dốc chỗ thuốc đó vào miệng như thể đang uống chúng.

“Này!”

Những viên thuốc trong miệng Reine được nhai, và nuốt, giống như một thói quen vui vẻ hằng ngày.

“…Cậu ồn quá đấy.”

“Cô đã ăn bao nhiêu thế! Mà hơn nữa, đó là thuốc gì vậy?”

“…Hình như là thuốc ngủ.”

“Cô sẽ chết đấy! Không đùa đâu.”

“…Nhưng mà nó cũng có tác dụng lắm đâu.”

“Cô là cái gì vậy?”

“…Nó ngọt và ngon lắm, không sao đâu.”

“Nó có phải là Ramune đâu!?”

Shidou hít một hơi thật sâu để bình tĩnh lại.

“…Dù sao thì, lối này. Xin hãy theo tôi.”

Reine bỏ cái lọ rỗng vào trong túi, và lại tiếp tục loạng choạng bước đi.

Cô mở cánh cửa phòng ra.

“…”

Shidou nhanh chóng mang giày, đuổi theo cô.

“Đây là…gì?”

Bên ngoài phòng là một hành lang khá hẹp.

Những bức tường và sàn nhà với màu xám bạc của kim loại làm Shidou liên tưởng đến những hành lang trong các con tàu vũ trụ, hoặc lối vào của tàu ngầm trong những bộ phim mà cậu xem được.

“…Mình đang làm gì vậy nè?”

Shidou chầm chậm bước đi, vẫn không biết chuyện gì đang diễn ra.

Cậu chỉ có thể dựa vào Reine, người đang loạng choạng bước đi, trong một hành lang giống như trong một bộ phim. Tiếng bước chân vang vọng.

Một lúc sau.

“…Tới rồi.”

Reine dừng lại trước một cánh cửa được gắn với một bảng điện tử.

Sau đó, nó chợt phát ra một tiếng bíp nho nhỏ, và cánh cửa nhẹ nhàng trượt ra.

“…Xin mời.”

Cậu liếc nhìn căn phòng đó.

Nói đơn giản thì nó giống như một cái boong tàu. Sàn nhà trông giống một nửa hình oval, và ở trung tâm của nó là một thứ trông như ghế của chỉ huy.

Xa hơn, lần theo những bậc cầu thang thoai thoải ở hai bên dẫn đến một tầng thấp hơn, nơi vài toán người đang thao tác gì đó trên những bảng điều khiển có vẻ phức tạp. Giữa không gian mờ ảo đó, những ánh đèn nhấp nháy như báo hiệu sự hiện diện của họ.

“…Tôi đã mang cậu ta tới đây.”

Reine lắc lư cái đầu khi nói thế.

“Tốt lắm.”

Người đứng kế bên ghế chỉ huy cúi đầu chào như một quản gia. Mái tóc gợn sóng và cái mũi đó làm cho cậu có cảm giác anh ta không phải người Nhật. Và, vẻ ngoài của anh giống như mấy nhân vật xuất hiện trong tiểu thuyết BL.

“Xin chào. Tôi là Phó chỉ huy, Kannazuki Kyouhei. Hân hạnh được gặp cậu.”

“T-Tôi cũng vậy…”

Shidou cúi chào người đó.

Cậu cứ nghĩ là Reine đang nói về người này.

Song—cậu đã nhầm.

“Chỉ huy, Phân tích viên Murasame đã trở lại.”

Kannazuki lên tiếng, và từ đằng sau chiếc ghế phát ra một tiếng rên rỉ nhỏ, trong lúc nó từ từ quay lại.

Và rồi.

“-Chào mừng anh đến với <Ratatoskr>.”

Giọng nói của người được gọi là Chỉ huy có chút gì đó rất đáng yêu. Người đó dần dần hiện ra trước mắt cậu, một cô bé khoác chiếc áo quân phục đỏ.

Tóc cô bé được buộc thành hai bím với hai sợi dây buộc tóc lớn màu đen. Vóc người nhỏ nhắn, với đôi mắt tròn xoe, và cây kẹo Chupa Chups trong miệng.

Shidou nhíu mày. Dù có nhìn kiểu gì đi nữa thì...

“...Kotori?”

Đúng vậy, dù vẻ ngoài, giọng nói, hay thậm chí cả không khí xung quanh cô bé, có khác thế nào đi chăng nữa nữa, đó vẫn là cô em gái bé bỏng đáng yêu của Shidou, Itsuka Kotori.

Phần 3

"—Itsuka, Shidou."

Muttering in a faint voice that nobody else could hear, his face appeared in Origami's mind.

Without a doubt, he was the boy from that time. There's no way Origami's memories could be wrong.

It was a bit of a shame, but they had only met that one time, so it couldn't be helped that he didn't remember Origami. Since entering high school she had tried various ways to get closer to him, but they all ended in failure.

And now, there was an even more pressing issue.

"Why, was he in such a place?"

She could not understand why he had come out into the streets after the spacequake alert sounded.

Also—he had definitely seen it.

Origami, in the special equipment—and the Spirit.

"Master Sergeant Tobiichi, the preparations are complete!"

"..."

At the mechanic's sudden voice, Origami jolted her downcast face upright.

She then immediately focused on a command in her head.

The command travelled down the wiring suit wrapped around Origami's body, passing to the thruster Phầns on her back, and activated the embedded Realizer.

Wrapped in the equipment whose form didn't seem suited for flying, Origami's body was lightly floating in the air.

JGSDF - Tenguu Base.

In the hanger situated on one of its corners, following the mechanic's instructions Origami landed in her personal dock as if sitting down, returned the weapons to their designated places, and finally, exhaling a deep breath, shut off all of the Realizers.

At the same time, the weight of the equipment and the accumulated stress that she hadn't felt even a fragment of moments ago bore down on her body all at once.

The sound of a machine started behind her, and the thrusters she carried were disconnected.

However, it wasn't until around another three minutes, before Origami could move from that place.

This happened every time after using a CR-Unit. Returning from a superhuman to a normal person, the body would feel abnormally heavy.

Combat Realizer Unit. Generally called CR-Unit.

It was the name given to the tactical equipment that utilizes the miraculous technology, the Realizer, that the humans had obtained after the large spacequake thirty years ago.

It takes the results calculated by computers, and distorting the laws of physics, manifests them in the real world.

In short, although there are some restrictions, it is a technology that turns imaginations into reality. It had been called a system that produces so-called 'magic' through scientific means.

At the same time, it was the only way for humans to fight against the Spirits.

"Make way! Stretcher coming through!"

A bellowing voice came from the right.

Moving only her eyes, Origami noticed a squad member covered with the same wiring suit riding on the stretcher.

"...Dammit, shit, that bitch...! I swear, I'll fucking kill her...!"

The squad member on the stretcher was holding down the blood-soaked bandage on his forehead and bitterly muttering insults while being carried away.

"..."

There should be no problems if he could swear with such vigor. Losing her interest, Origami moved her gaze back.

In fact, if treatment is carried out using a medical-use Realizer, as long as it isn't an extremely serious injury, it can be cured in no time. When Origami broke her leg before, by the next day she was able to walk again.

"——"

While exhaling a long breath, Origami glanced slightly upwards.

She recalled the battle today.

—The calamity that will destroy the world, Spirits.

It was an abnormality which a group of superhumans like Origami couldn't even hope to scratch.

Appearing out of nowhere, spreading destruction on a whim, they were monsters on the level of natural disasters.

"..."

In the end, even today's battle ended with the Spirit being lost, though it was more like the Spirit decided to bring down the curtains.

Lost doesn't mean that the Spirit had died.

All it means is that the Spirit escaped through another dimension.

Though there were records in books where it seemed that the actions of the AST drove away Spirits, Origami as well as all of the other members involved directly in battle knew.

The Spirits feel absolutely no threat from them, and when the Spirits become lost, that's purely because of the Spirits' whims.

"..."

Her expression didn't change at all.

However, Origami bit down hard on her back teeth.

"Origami"

The voice that came from the inside of the hanger broke Origami's thoughts.

"..."

Silently, she turned to face the voice. Her body probably still hadn't gotten accustomed yet, as her head felt extremely heavy.

The basic realizer equipped on the wiring suit, once started, can expand a personal territory of a few meters around the person.

This territory is the essence of the CR-Unit. As the name states, it is a space in which the user's thoughts can become reality.

It has the ability to soften any external impact, as well as even allowing the gravity in the inside to be freely set. As long as this territory is expanded, the AST members can become superhumans.

That's why in return, for a short while after using a CR-Unit, it is hard to move the body freely.

"Good work."

There, wearing the same wiring suit as Origami, stood a woman in her mid-20s with her hand on her hip.

Captain Kusakabe Ryouko. The commanding officer of the AST that Origami belonged to.

"You did great driving off that Spirit by yourself. ...I gave a strict lecture to Tomonara and Kagaya. What were they thinking, retreating and leaving the Spirit to Origami alone."

"I didn't drive it away."

Origami replied, and Ryouko shrugged.

"Well, I've gotta report it like that to the top. If we don't show some results the budget's gonna drop."

"..."

"C'mon, don't make such a face. I'm praising you after all. In this situation where the ace's seat is still empty, you're making a great effort. Also, if you weren't there, the number of additional people who'd have died isn't just one or two."

Fuuuu, she exhaled her breath.

"But hey,"

Ryouko sharpened her gaze, grabbed Origami's head and turned it towards herself.

"You went a bit overboard. —Do you want to die so badly?"

"..."

With her sharp gaze still fixated on Origami, Ryouko continued.

"Do you really understand what kind of opponent you're fighting here? That's a monster for god's sake. A hurricane with intelligence. —Do you understand? Within your abilities, suppress the damage to the minimum, within your abilities, make it lost as early as possible. That is our job. Don't pointlessly expose yourself to danger."

"—That's wrong."

Origami replied while looking Ryouko straight in the eyes, and once again opened her lips slightly.

"To defeat the Spirits, that is the duty of the AST."

"..."

Ryouko frowned.

As the captain of the AST, she was supposed to have understood the name of the Anti Spirit Team much more so than Origami.

Because she understood, she stated.

—We can't manage to do any more than suppress the damage.

However, while acknowledging that, Origami repeated once again.

"—I will, defeat, the Spirits."

"..."

Ryouko let out a sigh, and removed her hands from Origami's head.

"...I wasn't planning on hearing what you personally think. Think what you want. —However, if it seems like you'll go against a command while on the battlefield, you'll be removed from the team."

"I understand."

Origami gave a short answer, raised her body which had finally adjusted, and walked away.

Phần 4

"—So, this here is the monster that we call a Spirit, and here is the AST. They're JGSDF's Anti Spirit Team. You've gotten yourself into a pretty worrisome situation. If we hadn't recovered you, you'd probably have died two or three times by now. So, onto the next thing—"

"W-Wait a moment!"

Shidou raised his voice, trying to hold back Kotori who had started her rapid explanation.

"What is it? After all the trouble this commander is going through to directly give you an explanation. If you're going to cry, then do so with more dignity. Since it's like this, I can at least give you the special privilege of licking the bottom of my foot."

Lightly raising her chin, with a gaze that seemed to be looking down on Shidou, a stream of abuse that was not Kotori-like flowed from her mouth.

"Re-Really!?"

The voice filled with great glee came from the one standing beside Kotori, Kannazuki. Kotori instantly replied "not you" and elbowed him in the solar plexus.

"Gah...!"

Watching that exchange, Shidou opened his mouth in surprise.

"...Ko-Kotori... Is that you? You were safe?"

"What's this, did you forget your little sister's face, Shidou? I knew you were bad at remembering things, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad. Maybe it'd be a good idea to reserve a spot at a retirement home right now."

A line of sweat rolled down Shidou's face.

He pinched his cheek. It hurt.

Shidou's lovely sister wasn't ever supposed to stop calling him 'onii-chan'.

Scratching the back of his head, Shidou let out a troubled voice.

"...Somehow, I'm so confused it's like the inside of my head has become Crocodile Panic. What the hell is going on? Or rather, where am I? What are these people? Also—"

Kotori, nodding "okay, okay", held out her palm and stopped Shidou.

"Calm down. If I can't understand what you're asking, there's no way I can answer it."

Saying this, Kotori pointed to the screen in the bridge.

There, the black haired girl that Shidou encountered earlier, as well as the humans clad in mechanical armor, were being displayed.

"Uhmm... did you say... Spirit?"

Shidou asked while scratching his cheek. He recalled the word that Kotori used in her explanation earlier.

Randomly appearing in the world, a monster of unknown origins.

"Yes. She is a being that did not exist in this world originally. Just by appearing in this world, not by her own will or anything like that, the surrounding area would be blown away."

With a bang, Kotori brought her two hands together, then opened them up, simulating an explosion.

Shidou grimaced, with his hand still on his cheek.

"...Sorry, the scale's a bit too large so it's hard to understand."

Hearing this, Kotori shrugged her shoulders, "you still don't understand after all this?", and sighed.

"What I'm saying is that spacequakes, or rather the phenomenon that we call such, are the aftereffects of Spirits like that girl appearing in our world."

"Wh..."

Shidou unconsciously knit his eyebrows.

An earthquake in open space. Spacequake.

An extremely unreasonable phenomenon that eats into humankind, into the world.

And the reason behind that, is because of that girl—?

"Well... the scale of the destruction varies. It could be limited to as small as a few meters, or as large as—around the extent of opening a giant hole in the continent."

Kotori made a large circle with her arms.

She was probably talking about the first spacequake thirty years ago—the one that was coined the Eurasia Sky Disaster.

"Luck was on your side, Shidou. If the scale of the explosion this time was slightly larger, you might have been blown away instantaneously."

"..."

It was indeed as she said. Even now, Shidou's body cowered.

Seeing Shidou like this, Kotori closed her eyes half way.

"And anyways, why did you go out while the alert was sounding? Are you an idiot? Did you want to die?"

"No that's not... because you were, look at this."

Shidou pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and showed Kotori's position data. As expected, Kotori's icon was stopped in front of the family restaurant.

"Hm? Ahh, that."

However, Kotori took her own cell phone out of her pocket.

"Ahh...? Why do you have, that."

Shidou looked back and forth between the screen of his own cell phone and the cell phone Kotori carried that was right in front of his eyes. Because Kotori was at this place, he completely thought that she had dropped her cell phone in front of the family restaurant.

Kotori shrugged her shoulders, and let out a long sigh.

"I was wondering why you'd go outside while the alert was sounding, so this was the reason. How stupid do you think I would be, you dumb brother."

"B-But... Ehh, why is this—"

"It's simple. The reason is that we are in front of the family restaurant right now."

"Huh...?"

"Alright then. I guess it'd be faster if I just show you. —Cut off the filter."

Following Kotori's words, the dim bridge immediately brightened.

Nonetheless, it was not that the lights had been turned on. If anything, it was like a dark curtain that covered the ceiling had been suddenly removed.

In fact, the blue sky spread out around them.

"Wh-What is this..."

"Please don't make a racket. The scene outside is just as you see."

"The scene outside is... this"

"Mhmm. Where we currently are is 15000 meters above Tenguu City. In terms of location, it coincidentally ended up being right around the family restaurant we were planning to meet at."

"Where we, are..."

"Yup. This <Fraxinus> is an airship."

Folding her arms, Kotori let out a smirk *fufun*. It was just like a child bragging about their favorite toy. No—if anything, it was probably closer to a mother introducing the child she tenderly raised.

"A-Airship...? What the hell is that. Why are you in something like that?"

"That's why, didn't I say to listen to my explanations in order? Even a chicken can remember up to walking three steps."

"Uuuu..."

"...However, to think that this place would be found from the tracking device of a cell phone, we completely overlooked that. We let our guard down after applying Invisible and Avoid using the Realizer. We must come up with some counter-measures later."

While muttering words that Shidou didn't understand, Kotori placed her hand on her chin.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Ahh, don't worry about it. I didn't expect you to follow that anyways, Shidou. After all, you have a brain that would lose to a horsehair crab's [1] in terms of price per gram."

"..."

"Commander. Crab miso isn't made with brain but with guts."

A drop of sweat rolled down Shidou's face as Kannazuki said that with a steady voice.

"..."

Kotori moved her fingers, beckoning for him to come, and Kannazuki gave a light bow.

And then, *pa*, the stick from the lollipop that she finished was blown towards his eyes.

"Nuaaaaghh!"

Clutching his eye, Kannazuki tumbled backwards.

"A-are you alright?!"

It didn't seem like he was acting. Shidou raised his voice in concern.

However, right as he was about to rush over, he stopped his feet.

Kannazuki, who fell onto the floor, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and with an ecstatic expression, calmly wrapped it around the lollipop stick that Kotori had just shot at him.

"Sorry, did I cause you to worry? I'm fine, this is a reward in our line of work!"

Saying this, Kannazuki instantly got up, standing perfectly straight.

What kind of line of work that is, Shidou did not Phầnicularly want to know the details.

"Kannazuki."

"Yes."

Kotori raised two fingers, and Kannazuki took out two replacement candies and handed them to her.

"So, back on topic. AST. That's a unit specialized for Spirits."

While speaking, Kotori pointed to a group of people that were shown on the screen.

"...A unit specialized for Spirits... what specifically do they do?"

Hearing Shidou's question, Kotori raised her brows as if the answer was obvious.

"Simple. If Spirits appear, then they fly over and deal with it."

"Deal with it...?"

"Essentially, exterminate them."

"...!"

It was not that what Kotori said caught him by surprise.

However—Shidou was assaulted by a feeling like his heart was being wrung.

"E-Exterminate...?"

"Yup."

Nonchalantly, Kotori nodded.

Shidou gulped. The sound of his heartbeat was awfully loud.

He had understood what they said. Spirits. They certainly were a dangerous existence.

But—no matter what, to go as far as killing them.

Suddenly, Shidou saw the face of that girl in his mind.

(—After all, didn't you come to kill me too?)

The meaning behind those words that the girl had said, he finally understood.

As well as the meaning of that face that seemed like tears would stream out at any moment.

"Well, if you consider it normally, having them dead would probably be the best for us."

Seemingly without any Phầnicular emotion, Kotori spoke.

"W-Wh...y?"

"Why, you ask?"

With a distorted expression, Shidou asked like he was moaning, and Kotori sophisticatedly placed her hand on her chin.

"There's nothing weird about it right? They are monsters. Just by appearing in this world they cause spacequakes. They are the evilest and deadliest poison!"

"But, didn't you say before? That the spacequakes have nothing to do with the Spirits' wishes."

"That's right. At least, it is widely believed that the explosion from first entering this world is unrelated to the intentions of the Spirit itself. —But, there have been scars of destruction and spacequake victims resulting from the fight with the AST afterwards."

"...But isn't that because those people from the AST attacked them?"

"Well, that might be so. —However, that is merely a conjecture. It might be that, if the AST does nothing, the Spirits would delightfully start their destructive activities."

"That... probably won't happen."

Kotori tilted her head in wonder at Shidou's statement.

"What's your proof?"

"Someone who would destroy the streets for fun... wouldn't make a face like that."

Something like this was probably too vague and weak to be called a proof but... for some reason, Shidou believed in it from the bottom of his heart.

"So it's probably not according to their intentions right? But still—"

"Whether or not they're causing it voluntarily isn't the problem. In either case, it is a fact that the Spirits are causing the spacequakes. It's not that I don't see where you're coming from, but you can't just leave a dangerous existence on the level of a nuclear bomb alone just because you feel sorry for it. Today it ended with only a small explosion, but we can't be sure that next time it won't be a Eurasia-level disaster."

"Even then... to kill them..."

Shidou stubbornly argued, and, muttering "good grief", Kotori shrugged her shoulders.

"You've only met for a few minutes, and on top of that it was someone who almost killed you, but you're still taking their side. ...Could it be, you fell for her?"

"N-No way. I was only wondering if there was some other way."

"Some other way, huh."

Hearing Shidou's words, Kotori let out a long sigh.

"So then let's hear it, what other ways do you think there are?"

"That is—"

The words stopped.

In his mind, he had fully understood what Kotori had said.

An aberration that leaves deep scars in the world just by appearing—Spirits.

Such a thing must be eliminated as quickly as possible.

However, it was only for a single instant.

Shidou had witnessed it. The girl's face, that seemed like tears were about to roll out.

Shidou had heard it. The girl's voice, filled with sorrow.

—Ahh, this is wrong, was what he had thought.

"...Anyways."

From Shidou's mouth, words started flowing naturally.

"If... we don't properly talk with them even once... we won't know."

The fear of facing death straight on at that time was still carved in the depths of his body.

It was honestly a fear that would make one want to escape.

However, Shidou could not just leave that girl like this.

Because she is—the same as Shidou.

Hearing Shidou's words, Kotori's lips curled into a mischievous smile.

It was as though she was saying "I was waiting for those words".

"I see. —Then, let me help you."

"Huh...?"

While Shidou's mouth was hanging open, Kotori spread her arms out wide.

Reine, and Kannazuki, and the crew spread out below, and also this airship—<Fraxinus>, it was as if she was indicating all of these.

"I said, we will assist you with that. All of <Ratatoskr>'s power will go towards supporting Shidou."

With an elegant movement, Kotori placed her fingers on her knees.

"Wh-What are you talking about. I don't—"

"Let me answer your first question. The one about who we are."

As if to block out Shidou's questions, Kotori raised her voice.

"Okay? The ways to deal with a Spirit basically fit into two main methods."

"Two...?"

Shidou asked, Kotori gave an exaggerated nod, and then raised her index finger.

"The first, is the approach that AST is taking. The method of exterminating them through a clash of power."

Following that, her middle finger also stood up.

"The other is... the method of talking to the Spirits. —We are <Ratatoskr>. We are an organization created for the purpose of resolving the spacequakes without killing the Spirits, through conversation."

"..."

Shidou narrowed his brows in thought. About what exactly that organization is, and why Kotori was Phần of such an organization, there were many questions in his mind, but—for now, he asked the question that was the most on his mind.

"...So, why is such an organization going to be supporting me?"

"You've got the premise all wrong. In the first place, the organization called <Ratatoskr> was an organization created for Shidou's sake."

"Ha, haaaa...!?"

Shidou had a magnificent breakdown in expression, and let out a hysteric voice.

"Wait a moment. Now I'm more confused than before. For my sake?"

"Yes. —Well, it might be more correct to say that it's an organization to lay the foundations for Shidou's role in negotiating with the Spirits in order to solve the problem of the Spirits. Either way, it's an organization that wouldn't exist if Shidou didn't exist."

"Wa-wait. What do you mean? Were all of these people gathered for that reason? Or more importantly, why me!"

Shidou asked, and while rolling the candy around in her mouth, Kotori murmured.

"Mm, well, Shidou's special."

"That's not an explanationnnnnnnn!"

Unable to resist, he yelled.

However Kotori fearlessly smiled, and made a shrugging gesture.

"Oh well, you'll understand the reason eventually. Isn't this fine? I'm saying that we, all the members and all our technologies, will be backing your actions. Or—are you planning to stand between the Spirits and AST without any preparation by yourself? You'll die, for sure."

Kotori narrowed her eyes and spoke in a cold voice. Without noticing it, Shidou swallowed his breath.

It was as Kotori said. Shidou was just singing his ideals and hopes, but did not possess any means to make it reality.

The things he wanted to say were so many that it seemed that they might overflow from inside his throat, but he somehow endured it, and asked only what would advance the topic forwards.

"...So for that, conversation method, what in Phầnicular needs to be done?"

A small smile floated on Kotori's face.

"About that."

She then placed her hand on her chin,

"Make the Spirit—fall in love."

Smirking, she proudly said that.

......

After a bit of time.

"...What?"

A line of sweat dripped down Shidou's face as he frowned.

"...Sorry, I don't really understand."

"Like I said, make friends with her, talk to her, flirt with her, date her, and make her fall madly in love."

Hearing Kotori say this as if it was a given, Shidou buried his head in his hands.

"...Uhm, and why would that solve the problem of the spacequakes?"

Kotori placed a single finger on her chin and with an "mmmm" made a thinking gesture.

"If we want a solution to the spacequakes without using force, then we have to persuade the Spirit right?"

"That seems right."

"For that, wouldn't it be quickest to make the Spirit come to like this world? Oh, this world is so wonderful~, if they become like that, then even a Spirit wouldn't randomly go on a rampage."

"I see."

"Thus, well, isn't it often said? That if you fall in love then the entire world seems beautiful. —And so, date her, and make the Spirit fall for you!"

"No, there's something wrong with that logic."

It was obvious that the logic went out of the window. While a streak of sweat flowed down Shidou's face, he commented.

"I-I can't go through with such a thing..."

"Be quiet you fried chicken."

As Shidou tried to voice a complaint, but Kotori covered it with a strong voice that didn't allow him a choice.

"I won't allow the AST to kill the Spirits~, there's gotta be another way~, but I don't like <Ratatoskr>'s way~...? If you're going to be naive then at least do it in moderation you Bombardier Beetle. What can you do by yourself? Know your own limits."

"Ugghh..."

"—I don't need the approval of the bottom of your stomach. But, if you don't want to kill the Spirits... then you don't have room for choosing the method."

For some reason, an evil smile floated onto Kotori's face.

In reality, it was as she said.

Without any power or support, even if Shidou wanted to talk with that Spirit girl one more time, it wouldn't come true.

AST's method is out of the question—even Kotori's group probably wants to ensnare the Spirits for their personal gains, since that was the only reason he could think of.

However—it was a fact that there were no other ways.

"..., I understand."

Shidou bitterly nodded, and Kotori's smile filled her face.

"—Yoroshiku. Looking at the data up to now, the next time a Spirit will show up is at least one week later. We'll immediately start training tomorrow."

"Huh...? Training...?"

Shidou uttered, stunned.

Phần 5

The next day arrived.

"Come."

"Eh?"

Suddenly.

Shidou's hand was grabbed by Origami, as he let out a confused voice.

"Ah, wa-wait..."

His chair toppled over with a crash, and he was dragged out of the classroom by Origami.

Behind him, Tonomachi's mouth was hanging open, and for some reason groups of girls were making a commotion going *kyaa, kyaa*.

While thinking that another rumor was going to start going around, Shidou followed Origami. Well, at least it's better than being treated as the 'best couple' together with Tonomachi, he comforted himself.

April 11th, Tuesday.

It was the day after the day Shidou had gone through a strange and unrealistic experience.

In the end, after that, Shidou was moved to a different room where he was given a detailed explanation of the situation that dragged on late into the night by a man he didn't know (honestly, he didn't really remember the later Phầns), and after signing various forms he was finally allowed to return home.

Without even taking a bath he dove into his bed, and before he noticed it was morning.

He dragged his sluggish body to school, and endured the lessons while rubbing his sleepy eyes, and finally the last class ended—was what he was thinking when at that moment the incident happened.

Without a word, Origami climbed up the stairs until she reached the tightly locked door to the roof, and finally let go of his hand.

The clatter of the students leaving school seemed awfully far away.

Though there were people less than ten meters away, it seemed as if this was a lonely, isolated space.

"Eh, uhmm..."

Even though he didn't have any feelings for Origami, for some reason, being brought to such a place by a girl, he felt awkward. Shidou's gaze swam.

However, without any warning,

"Yesterday, why were you at such a place?"

She spoke while looking at Shidou straight in the eyes.

"Well, it seemed my sister was still in the streets after the alarm rang, so I was searching.."

"I see. —Did you find her?"

Shidou answered, and with her expressions unchanging, not even showing surprise, Origami replied.

"—A-Ah... yeah."

"I see. That's great."

After saying this, Origami's lips continued to move.

"—Yesterday, you saw me."

"A-Ahh..."

"Don't tell anyone."

As Shidou was about to affirm, Origami said in a commanding voice.

I wonder how she would react if I replied "If you don't want everyone to find out then you better listen to what I say, hehehe", such a dangerous curiosity showed on Shidou's face.

But as expected, Shidou didn't have that much courage. He slowly tilted his head forward.

"In addition, it's not just about myself—but everything you saw and heard yesterday. It would be best if you forgot it all."

She was definitely... talking about the Spirit.

"...Do you mean that girl?"

"..."

Origami merely looked at Shidou silently.

"H-Hey... Tobiichi. That girl—"

He had already heard about the Spirits from <Ratatoskr>, but Shidou still asked.

In the end, that was only the viewpoint of Kotori and her organization. If it's people like Origami who cross swords with them, he thought that they would probably have a different mindset.

"That was a Spirit."

Origami gave a short reply.

"It's something that I must defeat."

"...T-That Spirit, is she a bad person...?"

Shidou tried throwing out this question.

As he did so, it was slight, but he thought he saw Origami bite her lips.

"—My parents, passed away 5 years ago, because of a spirit."

"...Wh—"

The unexpected reply clogged up Shidou's words.

"I don't want there to be more people like me."

"...Is, that so—"

Shidou placed his hand on his chest.

He tried to somehow calm his intense and profuse heartbeat.

However, suddenly a worrisome thought came into his mind. While scratching his cheek, he asked Origami, who even now was still looking straight at him.

"Now that I think about it, Tobiichi... about the Spirit, and stuff like that, is it alright for you to talk about them...? Well, even though I asked about them..."

"..."

Origami was silent for a moment.

"No problem."

"I-Is that so?"

"If you keep it a secret."

"...And if I don't?"

"..."

Again, her words stopped for a moment.

"It'd be a problem."

"I see... that would be bad. ...I promise you, I won't tell anyone."

With a nod, Origami approved.

At the end of their conversation, Origami moved her gaze away from Shidou, and proceeded down the stairs.

"...Fuuu..."

After he couldn't see Origami's back anymore, Shidou leaned on the wall and let out a sigh. Even though all they did was talk, he felt an extreme nervousness.

"Her parents, died because of Spirits—huh."

*Dong*, he banged his head on the wall, and muttered.

The Spirits were called the calamity that will destroy the world. Such a thing—probably happens.

"...Was I just naive after all..."

Origami and Kotori, though their directions were different, they were moving under their firm beliefs.

But what about Shidou?

The harsh words he said before Kotori yesterday, could he say the same towards Origami?

"..."

*Haaa*, he let out a breath. He doesn't think that his actions are mistaken, but he had a complicated feeling.

Then, as Shidou was about to descend the stairs.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!"

From the direction of the corridor, he heard the screams of a female student.

"...!? Wh-What's wrong?"

Hurriedly bounding down the stairs and taking a look, he saw that a few students had gathered in the corridor.

In their center, he noticed a woman wearing a white coat collapsed on the floor.

"Wh-What happened?"

"I-It seems she's a new teacher, and... she suddenly fell...!"

I asked, and a female student nearby hurriedly answered.

"I don't really understand, but for now let's get the nurse—"

As Shidou started to speak, the collapsed woman in the white coat grabbed his leg.

"W-Waaaah!?"

"...Don't worry about me. I just tripped."

While speaking, the woman slowly raised her face which had been attached to the floor.

"Y-You're...!"

Long bangs, and thick circles. She was wearing glasses, but there was no way he could forget those facial features.

"...Hn? Ahh, you are—"

The woman—<Fraxinus>'s Analysis Officer, Murasame Reine, slowly picked herself off the ground.

"Wh-what are you doing at this place...?"

"...Can't you tell by looking? I've become a teacher. In Phầnicular I will be teaching physics, as well as taking the position of assistant homeroom teacher for class 2-4."

While displaying the nametag on her chest, Reine replied. Incidentally, the stuffed bear covered in scars peeked out of her breast pocket directly above it.

"No, there's no way I could know that!"

A yell—at that point, Shidou noticed that oddly the surrounding gazes had gathered on them.

"Ah... I-It seems that this person is fine."

He stretched out his hand and helped Reine up.

"...Nn, thanks."

"No problem. Let's talk while walking."

Paying mind to the surroundings, Shidou suggested.

Matching Reine's pace, they plodded away.

"Uhm—Analysis Officer Reine?"

"...Nn, ahh, just Reine is fine."

"Huh?"

"...I will also call you by your name. They say coordination and cooperation is born from trust."

Reine nodded a few times, and looked at Shidou's face.

"Uhm, you were... Shintarou, was it?"

"Way off!"

There wasn't anything like trust there.

"...Now then Shin, this might be sudden."

"What's with that splendid through?! Or rather you even gave me a weird nickname!"

The shout burst forth. However, Reine continued as if she hadn't heard Shidou's words.

"...The preparations for the strengthening training that Kotori talked about yesterday has been completed. I was searching for you. This is perfect, let's proceed to the physics preparation room."

Anything Shidou says now would be useless, so he gave up on retorting, and after a big sigh, returned a question.

"Exactly what will I be doing for this training? Uhm... Reine-san."

"...Hm. I heard this from Kotori, but Shin, it seems that you haven't associated with girls before right?"

"......"

—My dear sister, why are you leaking your brother's history with women (zero) to other people?

A vein popped up on Shidou's face as he gave an ambiguous nod.

"...It's not like I'm trying to blame you. It's very good to have firm morals. ...But, that won't help you when you're trying to seduce a Spirit."

"Ugh..."

Frowning, he groaned.

It was probably when they passed close to the staff room, when

"...Ah?"

Shidou saw a strange sight and stopped.

"...What's wrong?"

"Look at that..."

Where he was looking at, the homeroom teacher Tama-chan was walking—following behind her, a tiny shadow with hair split in two then turned around.

"Ah!"

Perhaps she noticed Shidou's gaze, but the tiny shadow—Kotori's expression suddenly brightened.

"Oniii-chaaaaaaan!"

Instantly, as if sucked towards him, Kotori landed a surprise assault on Shidou's stomach.

"Hagaa....!"

"Ahahaha, you said hagaa! That's the mayor! ahahahaha!"

"Ko-Kotori...!? Why are you in this high school..."

Shidou asked while somehow peeling off Kotori who was clinging onto his stomach, and from behind Kotori, teacher Tama-chan hurried over.

"Ah, Itsuka-kun. Your sister came, so we were just going to broadcast it."

"A-Ahh..."

Taking a good look, Kotori was wearing the slippers for guests, and had a guest pass on the chest of her middle school uniform. It seems she entered the school after properly going through the formalities.

"Oh, teacher, thank you!"

"It's my pleasure."

The teacher returned a smile to Kotori who was energetically waving her hand.

"Oh my, what a cute sister."

"Haa... yeah."

As a drop of sweat rolled down his face and with a bitter smile, Shidou gave an ambiguous reply.

After smiling and waving "bye bye" to Kotori, the teacher walked away towards the staff room.

"...So, Kotori."

"Huh, Whaat?"

While opening her round eyes, Kotori tilted her head.

That behavior belonged to the cute little sister that Shidou was familiar with.

"You... those things last night, like <Ratatoskr>, or Spirits—"

"Let's talk about those later."

Her tone was the same as always, but for some reason there was the feeling of some kind of pressure, so Shidou fell silent.

Then, from behind Shidou, Reine's quiet voice echoed.

"...You're early, Kotori."

"Mm, because I left <Fraxinus> behind midway."

Although she had said to talk about those later, she had naturally said the ship's name.

Feeling that this was a bit irrational, Shidou placed a hand on his forehead.

Looking at that with a carefree smile, Kotori proceeded down the corridor as if to guide Shidou.

"Anyways, hey, onii-chan. Let's go?"

Saying this, Kotori pulled his hand.

"Wh... Whoa, I get it so slow down."

Today was a day where he was dragged along by girls a lot. While leisurely thinking about such a thing, they reached their destination.

East school building fourth floor, physics preparation room.

"Now, come in, come in~♪"

"Don't say it like 'heigh-ho'!"

Urged by Kotori, Shidou slid open the sliding door.

Immediately after, he frowned and rubbed his eyes.

"...Hey."

"...What?"

Reine responded to Shidou's words by tilting her head.

"What's with this room?"

The physics preparation room was not a place that students normally entered, and in fact, Shidou had no idea what it contained.

But even then, he clearly realized.

—That this was not the physics preparation room.

After all, Shidou's vision was filled with a large number of computers, displays, and various electronic devices that he had never seen before.

"...They're the room's equipment?"

"Why are you answering with a question! Or rather before that, isn't this the physics preparation room? What happened to the teacher in charge of this place!"

That's right. Originally, this was supposed to be the only place other than the toilet where the kind and plain elderly physics teacher Chousoka Beshiyouichi (nicknamed natural-born stone hat) could relax.

Now, teacher Chousoka Beshiyouichi's figure could not be seen anywhere.

"..Ahh, him. Hmm."

Reine placed her hand on her chin and gave a small nod.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Just like that, a few seconds passed.

"...Oh well, even if you stand there it won't change anything. Please enter."

"What's after 'hmm'!?"

What an amazing ignoring ability. It's a skill that Japanese people should definitely learn nowadays.

Reine entered the room first, and sat in a chair placed in the deepest Phần of the room.

Next, Kotori entered the room from beside Shidou.

Then, in a very accustomed manner, she untied her hair bound in white ribbons and refastened them with the black ribbons that she took out from her pocket.

"—Phew."

As she did so, it seemed like Kotori's aura suddenly changed.

She then sluggishly loosened the collar of her uniform, and collapsed into a chair near Reine with a big thump.

And then, from the bag she carried, Kotori took out what seemed like a small binder.

Inside it, lined up beautifully in a set, were various types of Chupa Chups.

It was the rumored candy holder.

Kotori chose one, putting it in her mouth, and sent a gaze that seemed to be looking down on Shidou, who was still standing at the entrance to the room.

"How long are you going to stand around for, Shidou? Or are you trying to be a scarecrow? You'd better give up. With your stupid face, I don't think you'll be able to chase crows away. Ah, but since it's so gross maybe on the other hand humans won't come near you."

"..."

Seeing his sister who had transformed into a queen in a single moment, Shidou placed his hand on his forehead.

Changing the ribbon had probably caused a switch in mindset.

It was like the flipping over of pieces in Reversi, impressively Jekyll & Hyde like.

"...Kotori, which is your true character...?"

"You're being pretty rude. You won't be popular with women like that. —Ahh, so that's why you're still a virgin. Sorry for pointing out such an obvious thing."

"...Hey."

"According to statistics, more than half of men who reached twenty-two without being able to date a girl remain virgins for life."

"That means I still have more than five years left! Don't underestimate the future me!"

"People who talk only about possibilities or how long they have left, in the end the only thing they say is 'I'll work hard starting tomorrow'."

"Guh..."

Realizing that he couldn't win in an argument, he grit his teeth and shut the door.

"...Now, anyways Shin, the training is about to start. Please sit here."

Saying this, Reine indicated a chair sandwiched between the two of them.

"...Okay."

Shidou had already realized that any of his complaints would be useless, so he followed their directions and sat in the chair.

"Now, let's immediately start the tort... *cough**cough*, let's start the training."

"You just said torture right now didn't you."

"It's your imagination. —Reine."

"...Ahh."

Kotori spoke, and Reine agreed while crossing her legs.

"...Whatever your intentions, in order to join in our plans, you must at the very minimum clear a certain requirement."

"What is it?"

"...In simple words, you must become more used to dealing with females."

"Dealing with females... huh?"

"...Ahh."

Reine nodded. For some reason, it seemed like she was about to fall asleep just like that.

"...Not only to break through the target's guard, but in order to gain their affection, maintaining a conversation is essential. Although we can give instructions on where to go and what to say... but if the person in question is nervous then it won't work."

"A conversation with a girl... it can't be that tough."

"I wonder."

Kotori suddenly grabbed Shidou's head, and pushed it hard into Reine's breasts.

"......!?"

"...Nn?"

Reine let out a strange sound.

His cheeks were attacked by a warm and soft feeling, and following that a fragrance that seemed to melt his brain circled in his nose. Shidou instantly pushed Kotori's hand away and raised his face with a jolt.

"...Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing...!"

"Hmm, it's no good huh."

Kotori mockingly shrugged her shoulders.

"You understand now right? If something like this even messes up your heartbeat then it's definitely no good."

"No, clearly this example is strange right!?"

However Kotori wasn't about to listen to him, as she shook her head in disappointment.

"Really, you're a sad cherry-boy huh. Oh my, did I just think you were a bit cute?"

"Sh-shut up."

"...Well, isn't it fine? It's because of this that we came here after all."

Saying this, Reine crossed her arms. Her naturally magnificent bust was even more emphasized.

Or rather, they were 'riding' on her arms.

"..."

For some reason looking at them made him feel embarrassed, so without noticing it his vision wandered.

—Training to get used to females.

In Shidou's head, the words Reine said passed through.

Moreover, they more or less became how to avoid being flustered in erotic situations... or something like that.

Kotori and Reine, what exactly are they planning on making Shidou do here—

"Swallow your saliva. It's disgusting."

Placing her elbows on the desk, Kotori said with half-opened eyes.

"...! N-no it's not like that Kotori! I-I wasn't..."

"...Oh well, weren't we starting immediately?"

Cutting into the conversation between Kotori and Shidou, Reine pushed her glasses up.

"Haa—, w-wait, I haven't prepared myself yet..."

With his voice shaking from nervousness, Shidou straightened his back.

Without minding him Reine muttered "...Nn", and like a moment ago brought her body towards Shidou.

Compared with the previous case where they were brought into contact without any prior notice, his heart throbbed way faster.

—Ahh, what? Just what is she going to do...!?

With his heart beating like this he couldn't even move. While making an expression like a main character in an 80's shoujo manga, Shidou tightly closed his eyes.

However, no matter how long he waited, nothing happened.

Opening his eyes and taking a look, Reine had merely plugged in the power for the monitor on the desk.

"Eh...?"

While Shidou stared blankly, a cutely designed word <Ratatoskr> showed up on the screen.

Next, together with a pop tune, beautiful girls with colorful hair were shown in order, and a logo that seemed to be the title, 'Make love, my•little•Shidou', danced.

"Th-this is..."

"...Yup. It's what's called a dating simulation game."

"It's a galge?!"

Shidou let out a shout that was like a shriek.

"Oh my, what were you imagining? It seems only your fantasizing ability is first-rate, disgusting."

"...N, th-that's..."

Fumbling for words... somehow he managed to calm his heart beat by clearing his throat.

"I-I was just, wondering if something like this really counts as training..."

Silently, Kotori looked at him with eyes like she was looking at something dirty.

He wished that she would at least say something. This silence, this silence is painful.

"...Well, please don't say that. This is merely the first stage of the training. Moreover, this isn't something you can find in stores, it was produced by the whole of <Ratatoskr>. It realistically reproduces situations that can happen in reality. It should be at least able to prepare you. By the way, it's 15+."

"Ahh... so it's not 18+."

Shidou said that without any Phầnicular meaning, and Kotori looked at him with a look bordering on pity.

"You're the worst."

Then, Reine scratched her head.

"...Shin, aren't you 16? You shouldn't be able to play 18+ games right?"

"But isn't this subtly different from what you said a moment ago?!"

He yelled, but it didn't seem like either Kotori or Reine was going to respond.

"...Nn, then let us start."

"Okay okay... let's see."

Despite feeling that something didn't make sense, Shidou took the controller in his hands as urged.

Playing a galge while your sister and a teacher watched, what kind of punishment is this, he thought.

Skimming over the protagonist's monologue, the game progressed forward.

Then, the screen suddenly turned dark.

"Good morning, my brother! It's another nice day today!"

Together with those words, a pretty CG was shown on the screen.

A short girl, probably the protagonist's little sister, was drawn in a slanted composition.

Or rather, she was stepping on the sleeping protagonist.

With her panties in full view.

"There's noooooo way!!"

While gripping the controller, Shidou raised his voice.

"...What's wrong Shin. Is there a problem?"

"Didn't you say that this reproduces situations that could happen in reality?!"

"...That's right, is there something weird?"

"Weird or not, such a messed up situation could... never..."

Stopping in the middle, Shidou's forehead started to sweat.

He realized that for some reason, an extremely similar experience seemed to have happened just yesterday morning.

"...What is it?"

"...Nevermind, it's nothing."

While feeling that there was something extremely off, Shidou returned to the game.

After he advanced the text a bit, some words appeared in the middle of the screen.

"Huh...? What's this?"

"Mm, those are choices. You choose the protagonist's next action through one of these. As you do your affection points will change accordingly so be careful."

Saying this, Kotori pointed to the bottom right side of the screen. There, was an object like a meter with its pointer on the zero position.

"Hmm... I see. So it's fine if I just choose one of these right?"

Shidou moved his eyes from the affection points meter to the choices.

①"Good morning. I love you Ririko." Lovingly hug your sister.

②"I'm awake. Or rather you've completely woke me up." Drag your sister into the bed.

③"I caught you, idiot!" Grab the leg that's stepping on you, and perform an ankle lock.

"...What the hell are these three choices! What Phần of this is real! I've never done any of these things!"

"Whatever, but the time limit is almost up."

"Huh...?!"

Just like Kotori said, the number displayed under the choices was gradually getting smaller.

"...Guess I have to do it."

Shidou said as if groaning, and chose the most normal of the choices, ①.

"Good morning. I love you Ririko."

I lovingly hugged my sister, Ririko.

As I did so, Ririko's face immediately filled with scorn, and she pushed me away.

"Eh... hey, what, will you stop that? It's gross."

The affection points meter dropped all the way to minus fifty.

"It was supposed to be real!"

While slamming the controller onto his knees, Shidou yelled.

"Ahhhh, you're an idiot. Even if it's your sister, it's obvious that that's what would happen if you suddenly hug her. —Jeez, it's good that this is just a game, if this happened in reality, a lovely air hole would have opened up in Shidou's stomach."

"Then what am I supposed to do!"

Shidou screamed about this extremely unreasonable treatment, and Kotori acted like she hadn't heard it.

With a sigh, she turned on the LCD screen in front of herself.

"Ah...? What are you doing?"

"Even if it's training, there needs to be a bit of tension."

On the screen, a scenery that he remembered was shown. It was the entrance to Raizen High School.

There, in the camera's sight, stood a middle-aged man wearing the high school's uniform.

"...What's with that guy?"

"He's Phần of our crew."

Saying this, Kotori pulled something like a mic out of nowhere and spoke into it.

"—It's me. Shidou failed a choice. Do it."

"Huh?"

The man in the image bowed.

"Huh...? Wh-what?"

Shidou narrowed his brows, and the man in the image took out a piece of paper from his pocket. He then held it out in front of the camera.

The moment he saw it, Shidou felt a shock as if his heart stopped.

"Th-That's—"

Seeing his reaction, a smile that showed that she was enjoying this greatly surfaced on Kotori's face.

"That's right. It's the poem that the young Shidou, affected by manga, wrote: 'Etude, tribute to the corroding world'."

"Wh...wh-wh-wh-why do you have that...?!"

It was without a doubt the poem that Shidou had written in his notebook in middle school. But before going to high school, it became embarrassing and he should have had disposed of it.

"Fufu, I thought that it would come in handy some day so I picked it up."

"Wh, wh-wh-what are you planning...!"

While grinning, Kotori let out the command, "Do it."

"Yes."

With a short answer, the man politely placed the poem into a nearby shoe rack.

Like this, some student that comes to school tomorrow will end up reading the poem Shidou put his whole soul into!

"Wh... what are you doing!"

"Don't make a fuss, you're shameful. If you mess up when dealing with a Spirit then it won't end with something like this. There's no question about Shidou yourself, but there is also the possibility that we could even get dragged in. —Thus, in order to give you a sense of tension, I've put in this penalty."

"That's too heavyyyyy! Or rather, wouldn't I be the only one that would get hurt?!"

Shidou yelled, and Reine gave a nod, placing her hand on her chin.

"...Indeed, what Shin says does make sense."

"! Th-that's right!"

With the unexpected help, Shidou's face brightened. However,

"...In that case, when Shin gets a choice wrong, we should also face some kind of penalty."

Saying this, she started to slowly take off her white coat.

"Wai... what are you doing?!"

"...Uh, weren't you saying that it was unfair that you were the only one getting embarrassed? So when Shin makes a mistake on a choice then I will take off a piece of clothes like this."

She said, and without seeming Phầnicularly embarrassed she crossed her arms.

"That wasn't what I meanttttttt!"

"Whatever, continue with the game."

Kotori impatiently kicked the chair.

With an almost crying face, Shidou gave up and faced the screen.

But, if the choices that appear later are all like this, he had no confidence that he could safely clear them.

"...Hey Kotori, for the sake of learning, can I try all the choices for the last choice?"

"Uwah, chickening out and thinking like a commoner, how disgraceful."

"Sh-shut up, it's my first time playing something like this so give me a break!"

"Jeez, fine then. Just this one time. —Then, save here."

"O-Okay..."

After Shidou finished saving, he reset the game and returned to the first choice.

"..."

With a grim face he glared at the choices... there really doesn't seem to be a decent one.

But it didn't seem like ③ would raise the affection points. By process of elimination, he chose ②.

"I'm awake. Or rather you've completely woke me up."

Groggily waking up, I drag Ririko into the bed and pull the blankets over her.

"Ah..., wh-what are you doing!"

"I can't help it. It's because of Ririko that it's gotten like this."

"!! Noo, stop! Noooooooo!"

"It's fine it's fine it's fine."

The screen turned dark.

The developments afterward happened in an instant.

The little sister, collapsed in tears. The protagonist, being beaten by the father. The clear sound of handcuffs. The protagonist, laughing alone in a dark room.

With that CG as the background, a sad music as well as the credits began to flow.

"What the hell is thiiiiiiiis!"

Unable to resist, Shidou yelled.

"If you suddenly do something like that then it's obvious what the result will be you sex offender."

"Then ③'s the correct answer?!"

Shidou reset the game, and for the third time returned to the first choice, and this time chose ③.

"I caught you, idiot!"

I twisted my sister's leg, performing an ankle lock—or tried to.

"Naive."

She twisted her body, escaping from my grasp, and like that, swung her leg around my back and grabbed my legs in a splended Sharpshooter

"Gwahh...?!"

Afterwards, due to the injuries sustained at that time, the protagonist became paraplegic and was forced into a life trapped in a wheelchair. —Like that, the game ended.

"Hey, wasn't ① the correct choice after all?! And normally your little sister shouldn't be able to pull such a move!"

"Hmpf."

As soon as Shidou said this, Kotori dragged him by the collar and flung him onto the floor, instantly grabbing his legs and pulling a Sharpshooter.

"Gah...?!"

"Hmph, gah? At least call out for your mother."

Saying this, she let go of Shidou and refreshingly straightened her hair.

"H-hey you, where did you learn such a—"

"It's a lady's means for self defense."

She flatly said.

The image Shidou had of a lady suddenly changed to that of a pro wrestler bulging with muscle.

"Ugh..., then what about this, in the end what's the correct choice?"

"Jeez, you're even going to ask the creator for the answer? How pitiful."

While speaking, Kotori grabbed the controller from Shidou, reset the game and proceeded until the first choice.

She then proceeded to silently stare at the screen without selecting anything.

"...? What are you doing? If you don't hurry—"

Before Shidou finished talking, the number displayed below the choices became zero.

"Nnn... ten more minutes..."

"Come on! Wake up already!"

Like this, an extremely normal conversation was shown on the screen.

The affection points meter neither went up nor down.

"Wha..."

"Don't you think there's something wrong with choosing from such weird choices?"

Laughing scornfully, Kotori gave the controller back to Shidou.

"I'll make a special exception and let you continue from this path, so hurry up and continue. Oh, and starting from the next choice there will be penalties."

"Guh..., grr..."

While feeling something inexplicable, Shidou grabbed the controller.

Continuing the game, a female teacher boasting a bust of over 100 centimeters showed up on the screen.

Even though it was already unrealistic, Shidou ignored it and proceeded onwards.

Then,

"Kyaa!"

With a scream, the female teacher tripped over thin air and fell in a way such that the protagonist's face was pushed into her breasts.

As expected, the controller was thrown onto the desk.

"There's, no way! Something like..."

He started to speak, but once again Shidou felt a cold sweat, and dejectedly picked up the controller again. He felt that something like this, although the situation was different, had happened just a while ago.

"What's wrong, Shidou?"

"...Nothing."

Quietly, he resumed playing.

As he did so, once again a choice showed up.

①"After something like this... teacher, I've started to love you." Gently hug her.

②"I-it's the god of breastsss!" Grab her breasts.

③"Chance!" Transition into an armbar.

...Once again, none of them seemed sane.

"So it's like this...!"

Shidou tightly clenched his fists. This must be following the same pattern as the previous one.

Waiting until the counter below the choices hit zero, as expected some text showed up on the screen.

"..., kyaaaah! What are you doing!? Pervert! It's a pervert!"

The female teacher shrieked, and the affection points dropped by 80.

"What the hell!"

Shidou cried out, and Kotori merely shook her head in contempt.

"If you enjoy her breasts for such a long time without trying to get away, this response seems obvious."

"Then what am I supposed to do!?"

"Did you not read the text before the choice? She is the advisor for the Judo Club, Goshogawara Chimatsuri. You have to put her in a hold, and move her attention from her breasts to the match."

"How the hell am I supposed to know that!"

"—Well, a loss is a loss. Do it."

"Roger."

The man in the camera once again took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and showed it to the camera.

On it was a crude drawing of a character as well as a detailed setting.

"Th... This is!"

"That's right. It's the manuscript for the original character that Shidou created in the past."

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!"

Despite Shidou letting out a shout, the man put the paper into a random shoe rack.

"Stop it stop it stop iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

Shidou grabbed his head and screamed, and Reine started making some movements with a rustling sound.

"..., Reine-san!"

He had forgotten. She had said that every time Shidou took a penalty, she would remove another piece of clothing.

Well, since Shidou was a healthy high school boy, it would be a lie to say that he wouldn't be happy... but, for some reason, he was troubled.

Fortunately, Reine was still wearing plenty of clothes on her body. If he makes sure not to get any more choices wrong then—

"...Nn"

Just as Shidou was thinking this, Reine slowly moved her hands behind her back, did something that caused a clicking sound, then moved her hands inside her clothes and wriggled them around a bit, and pulled out her brassiere from her neck.

"You're starting from there?!"

Shidou yelled, and Reine cocked her head to the side.

"...Is there a problem?"

"No, but aren't you clearly getting the order backwards?! Or rather you don't have to take off any more clothes!"

"...Hmm? Is that not unfair? I can still continue..."

"You just want to take them off, isn't that right?!"

Shidou raised his voice, and once again with a *gan* his chair was kicked.

"I don't care about that but hurry it up. Look, the next character has already appeared."

Saying this, Kotori gestured to the screen.

"Guh..."

Without a choice, Shidou resumed playing.

This time, what was shown on the screen was a scene with a girl that seemed to be in the same grade as the protagonist, who crashed into him at a corner of a corridor, and fell beautifully with her legs in an M shape and her panties completely visible.

"—!"

While searching his memories, Shidou clenched his fists, and said in a loud voice.

"There's none! This one, this one for sure doesn't happen!!"

"...Is that so? However I think that unexpectedly this does happen..."

That was what Reine said, but he definitely hadn't run into this before. Shidou confidently shook his head.

But, again his chair was kicked.

"This isn't a game where you try to decide whether a situation is realistic or not. Do it properly. If you make a mistake on the next choice—this."

Saying this, Kotori operated the computer in front of her.

"...Ah?"

Shidou narrowed his brows as an animation was shown on the screen.

—The background was Shidou's room. There, a half-naked Shidou stood.

"This... is..."

Shidou's face turned pale.

After all, this was—

"Special●Instant Lighting Blaaaaaaaaaast!"

In the image, Shidou made a pose with his two hands together by his waist, and with all his power suddenly pushed them forward.

Kotori made a face that seemed like she could not possibly enjoy anything more than that right now.

"Yep, this is, before when Shidou was watching the house by himself... *pu*, when he was practicing his original killer move in his room... *kuku*, a video..."

Unable to hold it in, Kotori said while her laughter spilled out.

"NoooooooooooOOOooooooooooOooooooooooOOoooooooooo—!"

Shidou let out his most magnificent scream of the day.

"Kotori! Not this! Please, anything but this!"

"Fufu, you better make sure to get the right choice next time then. ...Ahh, if you give up Phần way, I'll upload this to a video site."

"......"

With a face that seemed like he was about to cry, Shidou gripped the controller once again.