Date A Live Case 1 Anime

“This time, let us review Date A Live III. Everyone has been waiting. Did everyone enjoy the
third season depicting me and Shidou?”

“What are you talking about, Origami?”

Tohka couldn’t help but frown at what Origami was suddenly saying.

Then, Origami thrusted her hand towards Tohka.

“Ouch! W-What are you doing……”

Tohka’s eyes blinked. For some reason, she felt that she could now understand Origami.

“Anime……speaking of which, there’s the feeling of that happening……?”

“Yes. What is your impression of the third season?”

“Muu, let me think. My date with Shidou was──”

“Incidentally, I was impressed by the 11th episode. The kissing scene between me and Shidou,
that was wonderful. I recorded it and watched it several times. I’ve also set that as the lock
screen of my phone. Shidou’s words of “you are necessary to me” was set as my phone’s
ringtone. Next time I think I’ll demand it be an ad on the anime web page.”

“What are you going to do!? Hey, if you’re going to ask a question, at least listen to me!?”

Tohka yelled again, but Origami continued on while being indifferent to that.

“──Looking back, you started calling me Origami right around the third season.”

“Muu……”

After being told that, Tohka deeply nodded.

“……That’s right. Didn’t you also start calling me Tohka around this time?”

“Yes. Since that time, our relationship has changed drastically──I use to think Spirits were evil
and hurt you. I have to apologize to you once again.”

“Origami……”

Tohka smiled and shook her head.

“I don’t care. And, it because of that experience, I got to have the best friend I have now.”

“──Tohka.”

“I also hurt your body more than once. Sorry.”

“I won’t forgive that matter.”

“…………Hm?”

“To injure a girl’s weak skin is too much. Therefore, as punishment for Tohka, you have to wear
a mask of me the next time you see Shidou.”

“Weren’t we on a reconciliation path just now!? And this punishment is──”

At that moment, a strange voice came from somewhere.

-──You are necessary to me! ──You are necessary to me! ──You are necessary to me! ──You
are necessary to me!

“I need to answer the phone. Wait a minute.”

“You really set those words as a ringtone!?”

Tohka could only powerlessly shout.

Date A Live Case 2 Original Story

“──Now let us review the fourth season of the anime. Ah, but it is really surprising.
Unexpectedly, the second half will show the doujinishi battle between me and boy……”

Nia crossed her arms and deeply nodded. Tohka and Mukuro frowned in surprise at those words.

“Hold on, Nia, the fourth season has yet to be broadcasted!”

“Mun, please don’t let Nushi-sama embark on that malicious path!”

After the two said that, Nia deliberately puffed up her cheeks.

“Tch, you saw through it! Damn, I thought I could just create a fait accompli.”

Nia pursed her lips and continued by changing the subject.

“Well then, let’s review this volume. How about you two, after looking back is there anything
you want to do again?”

Hearing those words, Tohka and Mukuro gave it some thought.

“The time I spent with Shidou and everyone is all good memories. Of course, there have been
hardships, but that is closely connected to the end result now. I don’t have any regrets.”

“Mun, the same is true for Muku. Because of Nushi-sama and everyone, Muku can be here. Also
Muku reunited with Ane-sama. Muku is no longer looking back.”

After hearing their answers, Nia tightly closed her eyes.

“T-Too dazzling……you two are too pure and sparkling……!”

After twisting her body for a while, Nia shrugged and continued on.

“……Well, I agree that the ending is good, but Muku and I appeared way too late. Sure enough,
I still hoped to appear early. Compared to those from the first season of the anime, even
appearances in spin-offs are fewer.”

“M-Mun……?”

Then, as if seeking solidarity with what Nia had said, Mukuro slanted her head. Nia had a fierce
look as she continued on.

“That’s why! I want to change the order of appearance! Just imagine what would have happened
if Mukku-chin and I became allies during the prologue phase!”
“Order……?”

“Muu, what would happen……?”

Tohka and Mukuro started to imagine.

(What? A Spirit that can transform has become one of us? Okay, leave it to me. Ta da──search
complete. The one that the Spirit transformed into is──)

(Hmm? Yoshino has gone out of control in that ice barrier──‘Open’. Come Nushi-sama please
go to Yoshino safely through this ‘hole’)

“Even though I don’t understand it quite well, it feels like the plot has been broken!?”

Tohka couldn’t help but scream from the imagination that ran through her mind.
Date A Live Case 3 New Life

“……Ha!”

“Mun……!”

Tohka and Mukuro opened their eyes at the same time.

The two looked around. In front of them was Kurumi wearing lady-style clothes and Kotori who
was wearing a uniform just like Mukuro.

“What’s the matter?”

Kurumi asked while narrowing her left and right eyes of the same color. Tohka thought for a
moment before opening her mouth.

“No……I just felt like I had a strange dream. Origami and Nia said something about an
anime……”

Then, Mukuro nodded while also confused.

“Mun. Although there wasn’t Origami, Muku also had a similar dream.”

“Ara, ara, are you that exhausted?”

“Did you say that while daydreaming? How impressive.”

Kurumi and Kotori said that with a smile. Tohka and Mukuro looked at each other for a moment
before breathing out a sigh.

That right. Tohka and Kurumi were heading to university while Kotori and Mukuro were
heading to high school.

“Speaking of which, what’s this about an anime? Leaving aside Nia, even Origami said
something like that?”

Tohka vigorously nodded after hearing what Kotori had said.

“Well, it’s a topic based on the premise that our story becomes an anime.”

“Mun. The third season is over. The fourth season has been confirmed. Incidentally, there is a
spin off story with Kurumi as the protagonist.”

“Ara, ara.”

Kurumi covered her face while playfully smiling.

“That really is glorious…...but you shouldn’t be left in a daze forever. Alright, let’s hurry up, if
we don’t move faster──”

“Muu……muu, that’s right. It’s almost about time──”

“──It’s time to start the photography shoot.”

“…………Huh? Photography shoot?”

“Yes. For the live-action TV series.”

“Live action.”

“TV series.”

Kurumi’s words caused Tohka and Mukuro to slant their heads in doubt.

“Yes. That’s right. The others have also arrived.”

“Anyway, it’s really troublesome to write a story about the Spirits. It’s necessary to have to wear
a clock-shaped cosmetic lens on the right eye.”

“Hey, I’m already a high school student. The height and body shape should have changed from
the junior high school period……”

“I don’t think there should be any problems for Kotori-san.”

“What is that supposed to mean. Shouldn’t I still be under a period of growth!?”

“…………”

“…………”

Looking from Kurumi and Kotori’s backs, Tohka and Mukuro looked at each other, reaching out
to pinch each other’s cheeks (to confirm if they were dreaming).
Kurumi Friend

Her height and slender body type was similar to her own.

She had beautiful chestnut colored hair that was tied together in three braids and fangs that could
occasionally be seen through her sweet smile.

Even though it was within her temperament to not be afraid, she still had her own special type of
stubbornness. An example of that was placing sugar in black tea. She lived alone in a house in
the suburbs while raising a cat named Marron.

It felt unimaginable that the two of them could be interacting inside and outside of school at this
moment, but during the moments of talking to her, she could always feel her own heart calm
down.

If a person were to ask Kurumi that, they would definitely get such an answer. Even when
confronted with gossipy people wanting to pry information about her close friend, Kurumi
wouldn’t mince words.

In fact, Kurumi could say with confidence that besides Sawa’s family, she was the person that
knew her best. No, if focusing only a sole point, it could be even said that she knew her better
than anyone else.

After all, in this world, only Kurumi knew the cause for her death──

“──mi-San. Kurumi-san.”

“……!”

After hearing someone call out her name, Kurumi faintly raised her shoulders. With that
movement, the bangs covering her forehead also swayed to her shoulders, exposing the left eye
that had been concealed.

Then, Kurumi fixed her bangs and lifted up her head that she had kept lowered for who knows
how long. What shinned onto her eyes were the scenery of the classroom and the figure of
Yamauchi Sawa sitting opposite to her.

“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san? You seem to be in a daze.”

“Ah──it’s nothing. I just stayed up too late yesterday, that’s all.”

“Is that so? Ah, were you watching that animal video again?”

After saying that, Sawa laughed. From the small cracks within her lips, her small fangs
occasionally appeared.
Kurumi chose to neither confirm nor deny this, giving off an ambiguous look as she thinly
sighed.

It was 12:30 PM, with the classroom at lunch break; the students were eating and chattering idle
gossip. And Kurumi wasn’t an exception. The two of them pressed their tables against each other
and opened their lunch boxes.

Indeed, it was something that could be seen anywhere, quite the ordinary scene. The words
conveyed to each other didn’t contain any deeper meaning, nor were they seeking any additional
meaning in their actions. All of this was nothing more than an ordinary page out of their daily
lives.

──However, Kurumi noticed. Only Kurumi could understand that the situation seen before her
eyes was the result of an exceptional miracle.

After all, the friend that was smiling right before her eyes──she had died a long time ago.

“…………”

No. Kurumi suddenly lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly.

This response was correct but inappropriate. This would be to avert her eyes from her own sins,
to desperately try and run away.

Kurumi opened her eyes again, staring at Sawa’s face intently.

──The face of a friend that she had personally killed.

That’s right, when Kurumi had become a Spirit, she had killed her.

That being said, while Kurumi held no hatred against Sawa, the incident wasn’t an accident or
due to negligence.

Sawa, having been transformed into a monster by the Spirit of Origin, was treated as an ‘enemy’
that she ruthlessly shot down.

This was the starting point for Kurumi’s grudge against the Spirit of Origin and also the
beginning of her journey for revenge.

It can be said that this incident was what motivated Kurumi to return to the past through
<Zafkiel>’s power and the notion of changing everything so that nothing had occurred.

──And now, the daily life she had frantically sought after was right in front of Kurumi.

“──Sawa-san.”
“Um, what’s the matter. Kurumi-san.”

“Ufufu, I just felt like calling out to you.”

“Eh……what. ……This won’t be good if in regards to other people. This will definitely spark a
misunderstanding.”

With her eyes half-closed, Sawa’s face was dripping with sweat. Such a funny expression made
Kurumi smile from the sheer nostalgia.

That’s right. With the Spirit of Origin──with the battle against Mio over, everything had come
to an end.

After Mio’s death, she used the power of her Sephira Crystal. Sawa, who had died before, and
everyone that she had devoured for the sake of her goals had all come back to life.

The other Spirits were all also enjoying themselves while resuming their lives. Reportedly,
through the magical treatment, even Mana’s scarred body had been successfully treated.

Such a happy ending seemed like a joke. Just about everything was completed magnificently just
as she wanted. A dream-like world of happiness was presented in front of Kurumi.

“Speaking of which, Kurumi-san. What about that matter?”

As if suddenly remembering something, Sawa raised her finger. Kurumi slightly tilted her head.

“That matter?”

“It’s the club activities, club activities. Didn’t we talking last time about visiting after finishing
studying? How about going after school today?”

“Aah──”

Kurumi nodded her head in sudden realization, as she recalled having said those words some
time beforehand.

Indeed, using the power of the Sephira Crystal, Sawa had been brought back to life. However,
more than two decades have passed since the time period where they had once lived. For it to be
exactly the same as before──that would be impossible.

For this reason, Sawa still needed asylum through means of a titular supporting group
organization. And in this manner, she also began resuming her studies at Raizen High School.

The excuse was that Sawa suffered an illness that was difficult to treat with the medical
conditions of the time, so she entered cryogenic sleep to wait for the invention of a new
treatment method. And since Kurumi hadn’t changed at all from the past, she also took the same
backstory of being placed under sleep.

Although Sawa was very confused about the status quo at the very beginning, she gradually got
used to her current life. It was because of this, Kurumi had proposed, “Since we have the
opportunity, why don’t you try to participate in a club activity?”

“Well, no problem. Do you have any clubs you want to join?”

After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa nodded and pulled out a notepad from her bag.

“Yeah, there are a few clubs I want to visit. The literature department, the fine arts
department──and also the feline research society sounds interesting.”

“…………!”

After hearing Sawa say that, Kurumi faintly stirred her eyebrows.

“Ah, as expected you’re interested in that one? The feline research society.”

“Un, not really. How could I be……”

“Huh, is that so? Then how about we go visit the literature department today?”

“…………”

“Hehe, I’m just kidding. Don’t be so listless.”

Sawa said so with a smile. Likely feeling her own face light up in delight, Kurumi patted her
cheeks.

Immediately afterwards, the smile on Sawa’s face grew stronger.

“Ah, sure enough you really were in low spirits about that.”

“……! Sawa-san, you.”

“Ahaha, sorry.”

After saying that, Sawa lowered her head slightly.

Even though Kurumi look fuming on the surface, she couldn’t help but sigh.

──Aah. That’s right. She would always tease her like this before.

Kurumi smiled again upon realizing the daily life she had yearned for had returned.
After finishing classes for the day, Kurumi and Sawa arrived at the club room.

While it would usually be more bustling with activity here, it seemed rather calm today. Well,
given it was already March now, this wasn’t surprising.

The main activities and general assemblies were basically over, with all that remained being the
graduation ceremony. It was hard to imagine hopeful people returning back to school to scout for
clubs during a time period like this.

“So, it should probably be over here……?”

Soon afterwards, they arrived outside a club with a sign saying ‘Feline Research Society’
hanging on the door. Looking at the door, there were densely packed hand-drawn cats and paw
print illustrations. For some reason, the cat illustration also had an eyepatch.

“…………”

“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

After hearing Sawa’s voice, Kurumi nodded.

……She didn’t know why, but there was a subtle feeling of unease. But it was out of the
question for this feeling to be troublesome. She was likely thinking too much into it. So, in this
manner, Kurumi spoke while knocking on the door of the “Feline Research Society.”

“Excuse me. We came here to visit and learn more about your club’s activities──”

After all──

“Ara.”

“Ara.”

“Ara.”

“Ara.”

At the moment when Kurumi opened the door to the club’s activity room, the four girls that
looked identical to Kurumi called out with the same voice as Kurumi.
That’s right. This was a rendition of Kurumi’s past, born through the power of the Eighth Bullet
<Het> of Kurumi’s Angel <Zafkiel>. No, to be more precise, they were completely consistent
with Kurumi.

These four clones were distinguished through the medical eyepatch, bloody bandages, decorated
eyepatch, and antiquated eyepatch on their left eyes.

Although everyone was wearing the school uniform for the time being, they displayed variation
in spite of that through the various patterns emerging from their sleeves and hems of their skirts.

That’s right. The four that appeared here now could be described as the four most difficult to
deal with among the many Kurumi clones──the clones that claimed to be the ‘Elite Four
Kurumi’.

“W-Why are you all here──”

“──Ugh.”

A trembling sound was let out from Kurumi’s throat.

Sawa, who had peeked into the room from behind Kurumi, spoke out in surprise.

“Everyone is Kurumi-san……!? W-What is going on……”

“……!”

The words to speak wouldn’t come out from Kurumi’s throat.

──Completely seen through. After realizing this, her brain started processing at high speed. But
now that Sawa had seen each clone, using a misunderstanding as justification would be a little
difficult in this situation. That said, being honest and telling Sawa the ins and outs of this
situation would also be a massive blunder. If the other party would only assume that something
strange had been said, it would be acceptable. But having her remembering anything about the
Spirits must be avoided at all cost.

The time it took was around 2.5 seconds. After condensing her strenuous thinking, Kurumi
clapped her hands.

“Well! It’s been a long time everyone! I didn’t know you all were doing this sort of activity!”

Pretending as if nothing strange had occurred, Kurumi called out to them.

Kurumi quickly turned her body around, stretching out her arms to introduce everyone in the
club activity room.

“Sawa, let me introduce you.

──my younger cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin.”

“…………Huh?”

After hearing Kurumi’s words, Sawa widened her eyes and stared blankly.

“……Isn’t that right?”

Kurumi turned her head and casted a sharp look.

“─────”

When all is said and done, the clones were also ‘Kurumi’ and quickly understood Kurumi’s
intentions. In a flash, everyone exchanged glances and deeply nodded.

“Yes, yes. It’s nice to meet you for the first time. I am……um, Tokisaki Manami.”

“I am Tokisaki Tsutsumi. To be always under your care……or rather my blood sister Kurumi
has always been under your care.”

“So you must be Yamauchi Sawa. I’ve also heard your distinguished name for a long time. I am
Tokisaki Amami.”

“Then I am……Tokisaki Kazumi, please remember it.”

In this manner, eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, sweet Lolita Kurumi, and Japanese Gothic
Kurumi all said hello to Sawa in turn.

Sawa appeared a little sluggish, but then finally moved her shoulders in response to everyone.

“This really frightened me……Kurumi-san, for there to be several cousins that look so similar.”

“U-Uhh……”

Kurumi’s forehead was perspiring with sweat. Although it was an excuse made in a hurry, it
seemed the other side had bought this statement for now. Well, after all without the relevant
knowledge about Spirits or Angels, naturally there wouldn’t be any conjecture that they are
doppelgangers. In this manner, there was no possibility for any reasoning except for this
explanation.

The Elite Four Kurumi also nodded while whispering.

“Yes, yes.”

“We certainly do look alike.”

“The five of us are often mistaken for each other by others.”

“We are just like the Gotoubun no Tokisaki.”

“……Please don’t say anything unnecessary, okay?”

Kurumi half-opened her eyes and whispered.

“Speaking of which, what are you all doing here?”

“If you’re asking what, it’s just as you can see. We are the feline research society.”

“Yes. Our main activity is to observe stray cats.”

“With all the problems resolved, we want also want to usher in a perfect ending.”

“Since that is the case, we also want to enjoy the school life a little.”

“…………”

After hearing the clones’ replies, Kurumi sighed and placed her hand against her forehead.

Indeed, although it had happened by accident, all of Kurumi’s goals had been virtually achieved
with Mio’s death. But for the clones, this meant the company shutting down and everyone
becoming collectively unemployed.

The lifespan of each clone is directly proportional to the ‘time’ used during their creation. Even
though they were her past selves, it didn’t change the fact that they had been working hard as
comrades for Kurumi so far. So Kurumi gave them permission to freely dedicate how they would
like to spend their remainder of their lives.

──However, she never imagined that there would be poorly considered individuals that would
consider staying at the same school as Kurumi. And out of all of them it had to be those four. If
seen by an unsuspecting person, it would be viewed as a bit frightening.

Then, as if realizing something, Sawa slanted her head.

“So you are Kurumi-san’s cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin……? How old
are you now? Kurumi and I have been put under sleep for more than 20 years in order to cure our
illness…...”

“……”

After hearing Sawa’s words, Kurumi’s face look strained from this predicament. Indeed, having
suspicious about that point would be natural. For an excuse made up for self-justification, this
situation now really was a massive blunder.
“A-Actually, all four of us caught the same disease, so we were all treated together.”

“Eh, is that true!?”

“Well. After all, from a genetic point of view, we belong to a family that is very susceptible to
this disease……”

Kurumi, whose back was now soaked in sweat, took the risk and made this excuse. ……Next
time, she ought to have <Ratatoskr> fill in the blanks to make this more believable.

At that moment, Kurumi suddenly felt an annoyed look pierce her back. But looking closely, she
saw that the Elite Four Kurumi was all looking back at her with smiles.

“……What’s wrong?”

“No, no, it’s nothing. The facts are just like what Kurumi ane-sama had said.”

Eyepatch Kurumi deliberately shrugged.

Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again.

“But, if everyone is as close as you said, why did you say it’s been a long time……didn’t you
see Kurumi-san after waking up? And it seems like you didn’t know what everyone was doing in
this club……”

“T-That’s because……”

While Kurumi was struggling to come up with a new excuse, as if to help out, the voices of the
Elite Four Kurumi came out from behind Kurumi.

“No, no, it wouldn’t have been good to tell Kurumi-ane sama.”

“It’s not like we hate Kurumi-ane sama or anything……”

“You see, isn’t big sister Kurumi a little too self-centered? When things occur that we can’t
explain, she’s always so quick to get angry at us.”

“Also, can I say a little bit about her black history? Kurumi-ane sama used to be a little awkward
in the past. Although it was only at the level of being prickly……to be honest, it was a bit
difficult to get along with her.”

“Gu……”

This wasn’t a helping hand at all. Kurumi’s eyebrows tensed up as her expression soured.
The likely knew that Kurumi would never lash out at them in front of Sawa, so the Elite Four
Kurumi was speaking freely at their own leisure.

Kurumi tried to maintain the smile on her face, turning to the Elite Four Kurumi and moved her
lips without making a sound.

──Give. Me. A. Reason.

Immediately afterwards, as if realizing she had been pushed enough, the Elite Four tried to force
a laugh while looking away.

“Ha……really. ──Sawa-san, it’s just as you can see. If I had to join a club, I would want to go
somewhere else.”

“Eh? Is that all right, all of your cousins are here.”

“It’s better to say I don’t want have any relationship with them at all. While I usually do things
like observing stray cats, I wouldn’t use it as a community activity. It would be better off just
playing with Marron at home. All in all, let’s head back.”

“Ha, ha……”

If Sawa continued to get along with the Elite Four, who knows what sort of black history would
come bursting out. Kurumi tried to ambiguously push Sawa away from this club room.

However──the sleeves of Kurumi’s uniform were suddenly pulled.

“What are you doing? You should know it’s impossible to get me to stay──”

Kurumi impatiently turned around as she spoke──and then, Kurumi finally realized her mistake.

The clones were renditions of Kurumi’s past. Although the things she liked were different
depending on the time period, the basic likes and dislikes were still similar.

That is to say──

“Marron-san……?”

The Elite Four were all extraordinarily fond of the Marron living in the Yamauchi household.

◇
About twenty minutes after that, Kurumi was walking the path back from school with a somber
look.

Walking next to Kurumi was Sawa and behind the two was the Elite Four happily talking and
chatting.

That’s right. After the Elite Four began singing praises about Marron, Sawa agreed to the four of
them with a wry smile. So everyone was walking to the path to Sawa’s home.

Incidentally, when Kurumi was still human, the Marron being fed in Sawa’s home had long since
died. But in the same manner, Marron was also resurrected through Mio’s Sephira Crystal. Well,
there was no way she could tell that to Sawa. So, she confessed that this cat was the original
Marron’s grandson, Marron III.

“──That being said, it is Marron after all.”

“It’s been such a long time……no, I’ve only heard about this mentioned before from Kurumi-
ane sama.”

“Yes, yes. I was hoping for the opportunity to meet each other beforehand. I’m really looking
forward to this.”

“Ah, but if we all try to touch at the same time, Marron will be very tired. We need to take
turns.”

Continuing on in this manner, the Elite Four kept conversing in this happy atmosphere. Kurumi
deeply sighed as she glanced back.

“Since Sawa has agreed, I won’t say much. But I ask you all to comply with our
agreement──Manami, Tsutsumi, Amami, Kazumi.”

After Kurumi finished talking, the Elite Four all gave an expression as if asking, “Who are you
talking to?” But then, seemingly remembering the pseudonyms they had come up with, all four
of them nodded.

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“Just leave it to me, Amami.”

“…………”

Kurumi still felt uneasy. So once again, she let out a sigh.

Seeing Kurumi act this way, Sawa laughed out loud.

“Everyone really likes cats. Sure enough, they are Kurumi-san’s relatives.”
“Ara, ara. Is Kurumi-ane sama fond of Marron that much?”

As Japanese gothic Kurumi excitedly asked, Sawa nodded while smiling.

“Exactly. She used to come to my house to find Marron almost every day. But Kurumi-san, even
if a little shy, looked completely immersed when playing with Marron. Let’s study together, or I
have some good tea leaves, almost every time there was a different reason to come over. But
actually each time she would always come with a ball of yarn for a cat.”

“S-Sawa-san……!”

Kurumi face turned red as she tried to interrupt Sawa. But the smile on Sawa’s face grew thicker.

……No, the clones should also have memories about this experience, but there was still a subtle
embarrassment for having an old matter like this being recalled.

So, while everyone was chatting, they soon arrived at Sawa’s house before they could notice.

In order to reproduce the scene of Sawa’s original home as much as possible, there was a single-
family western house right before their eyes. A magnificent blue roof ridge was joined onto the
lofty courtyard wall. Although the courtyard itself was very small, a flower bed of roses could be
seen everywhere.

Sawa habitually passed through the courtyard, opening the door to her house with her key and
placing out five slippers in front of the door.

“Everyone, please come in.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Please excuse me.”

“…………”

After giving their greetings, they took off their shoes and put on the prepared slippers.
Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again while letting out a confused look.

“Huh? Usually there will be signs of activity near the entrance hall. ──Marron?”

Sawa called out Marron’s name, but the house remained silent.

“Ara, ara.”

“No one is coming over.”

“That’s really strange……”

Sawa enquiringly frowned and walked over to the corridor. Afterwards, Sawa went up the stairs.
Kurumi and the others all followed her up to the second floor.

And then──

“Ah……”

Just as Sawa stepped into the end of the second floor──staring into the bedroom, Sawa’s eyes
widened.

Soon everyone could understand the reason. The bedroom window was creaking from the wind.
Moreover, a cat seemed to have jumped out the window. From the window curtains, scratches
and shed fur could be seen. It appeared that Marron had escaped from this forgotten window.

“You’ve got to be kidding; it shouldn’t be possible from here……”

Sawa walked to the window, leaning out from it to glance over at outside.

However, despite being uncertain of an escape, there were no signs of Marron to be found
outside. Sawa sighed and turned to Kurumi.

“Sorry……it looks like that cat ran outside. Ah, really, Marron III did inherit the original’s blood
after all……”

Sawa spoke while ruffling her hair with her hand. Speaking of which, Marron being so restless
and leaving home was a common occurrence in the past.

“Oh my……that’s really a shame. So then it’s impossible for today──”

Kurumi suddenly stopped talking. The Elite Four all had unsightly looks on their faces.

“……My goodness. To have really escaped outside, but this area is.”

“Speaking as members of the feline research society, we recommend finding Marron as soon as
possible.”

Eyepatch and bandage Kurumi both supported their mouths with their hands while speaking in
turn.

“Huh? I think Marron should come back when hungry……it was the same with the first-
generation Marron.”

As Sawa widened her eyes, sweet Lolita Kurumi continued on in response to that.
“Actually, in this area there are two huge stray cat groups fighting over this site.”

“Huge.”

“Stray cats group.”

Kurumi and Sawa muttered blankly as sweet Lolita Kurumi nodded.

“That’s right. The two fighting factions are known as ‘Triad Tails’ and ‘Undead Tiger Group’. If
a domestic cat gets caught in this conflict……it’s not hard to imagine what the results will be.”

“Triad Tails.”

“Undead Tiger Group.”

……There was the feeling of the name for those stray cat groups being a little strange, but the
matter of Marron being in danger was also understood. Kurumi wiped the sweat dripping down
her face with the sleeves of her uniform and turned to look at Sawa.

It looked like Sawa was having the same thoughts at this moment. The two of them exchanged
glances and nodded.

“Kurumi-san……!”

“Right.”

The two of them nodded to each other, traveling down the stairs, changing their shoes, and
leaving the house.

“So Sawa, try to search the path to go to school. If you find Marron first, contact me
immediately.”

“Alright, please do so.”

Sawa faintly lowered her head and started running straight on the road.

And after the sight of Sawa’s back disappeared onto the distance, Kurumi turned back and
walked to the clones that were on standby.

“Now, Sawa has gone out looking for that cat. ──In this manner, I can seriously start
searching.”

Kurumi didn’t intend to stand by and watch if Marron was really in danger. Kurumi wanted to
protect Marron immediately.

──However, in Kurumi’s hands there were too many cards she couldn’t reveal in front of Sawa.
So, while under Kurumi’s signal, the clones nodded and agreed.

“If dispatching me, finding a cat would be a breeze.”

“Yes──but, it would be too boring if it was just like that.”

“……Huh?”

As Kurumi frowned, the clones raised the corners of their mouths and continued to speak.

“By chance we can hold a contest searching for Marron.”

“Yes, that also matches my thoughts as well. The me that finds Marron first has the right to
caress Marron first……what do you all think?”

In that regard, the Elite Four kept an atmosphere of heatedly discussing this. Kurumi sighed
while crossing her arms.

“……We?”

“Ara, is this not good?”

“We didn’t say to look on without raising finger.”

“That’s right. It’s better to say that this form of competition would mean a higher efficiency.”

“Or could it be……there isn’t anything surpassing confidence over me?”

“…………”

Confronted by these clearly negative words to spur her into action, Kurumi eyebrows twitched
for a bit.

“……Certainly not, how can that be. But are you really okay with this?”

Kurumi said with her eyes half-opened. The Elite Four nodded as soon as they saw that.

“Yes, yes.”

“Then, there won’t be any more time if the search doesn’t begin now.”

“Marron search, begin now!”

Sweet Lolita Kurumi announced the start of the operation. Seeing this, the Elite Four Kurumi
kicked their feet against the ground.
However──

“──<Rasiel>.”

After Kurumi briefly called out that name, a book emerged from the void as the Elite Four
tumbled down one after the other.

“Oh my, what’s the matter? It’s better to be more careful.”

Kurumi said while shedding crocodile tears, absently opening the shining book.

<Rasiel>. From the previous battle, Kurumi had captured this Angel from DEM’s Isaac
Westcott.

Its power was ‘omniscience’. As long as she traced her hand along the page, the owner would
‘know’ any information.

Even the state secrets of a dominant power were all well and good.

The truth buried in the dark.

──Of course, the location of a cat that had fled from home would also be a cinch.

There was no point in competing. The winner had already been decided from the very beginning.

“H-How despicable, me.”

“Precisely! That’s not fair!”

The Elite Four struggled to get back up while protesting at Kurumi. However, Kurumi didn’t
need to pay attention to them while conformably shrugging her shoulders.

“What strange things are you saying, we. Isn’t the goal to protect Marron as soon as possible?
──Or by saying we should take measures to slow down the search and it doesn’t matter if
Marron is injured in the end?”

“Guu……”

“It’s annoying how correct that statement is……”

The Elite Four clenched their teeth. Feeling as if she had finally retaliated against the four people
teasing her today, Kurumi huffed from her nose.

“Now──”
Immediately afterwards, Kurumi turned her attention to a page of <Rasiel> while talking on the
side. As Kurumi traced her finger along the page, <Rasiel>’s pages began to shine as the
information flowed into Kurumi’s head like a running river.

“──Found it. The address is in West Tenguu, 2nd district house number 35. It seemed to be an
abandoned hut at the end of the street. ──Ara, ara. Having gone to such a place, a general search
method would have been improbable of succeeding.”

“……!”

After Kurumi finished saying that, the Elite Four suddenly all tensed up.

“……? What’s wrong?”

“Did you just say an abandoned hut in West Tenguu, 2nd district house number 35?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

As Kurumi nodded, eyepatch Kurumi immediately squatted down, stretching her hand into the
shadow. After some groping, she took out a notebook entitled ‘Feline Research Society · Secret
Report’.

“……I hope you’ll refrain from placing things like that in the shadow in the future.”

Despite Kurumi saying that, eyepatch Kurumi still didn’t care as she began to read the notes.

“Sure enough. That place is──the base camp for the ‘Triad Tails’.”

“──What did you say!”

After hearing eyepatch Kurumi’s words, Kurumi’s eyes became sharper.

“Either being caught or stumbling into there by accident──no matter the situation, this can’t be
ignored. Let’s hurry up and save Marron!”

“Please wait, me.”

However, just as eyepatch Kurumi was about to head to this destination, sweet Lolita and
bandage Kurumi noisily protested.

“The rubble of the Triad Tails’ base camp is piled up like a mountain, so only cats can get in.
Several of us went there many times but couldn’t enter, so we had to observe from a distance.”

“Yes, yes, of course cleaning up the rubble would mean be able to access the interior……but I
wish to avoid destroying the stray cats’ den.”
After listening to the other clones, Japanese gothic Kurumi frowned.

“What are you talking about, me. So, it doesn’t matter if Marron is injured?”

“I haven’t said that. However, we must avoid the occurrence of a change in habitat of nearby
stray cats due to human intervention. And if that sort of thing happens, the possibility of stray cat
bloodshed could also increase significantly.”

“That being said……!”

“So like this, the clones began to argue among themselves. Even though they all started out being
the same ‘Kurumi’, there was subtle difference in thought process due to the different time
period being extracted from. Therefore, it was inevitable there would be difference of opinions
and disputes.

However, right now time was sparse. Kurumi loudly shouted to stop the argument between the
two parties.

“──Since that is the case, let’s go. You guys will arrive at the destination first and be on
standby. Only when Marron’s safety is directly threatened will a straightforward rescue attempt
be allowed.”

“……Then, what will me do?”

After hearing Kurumi’s instructions, eyepatch Kurumi raised that question. In response to that,
Kurumi licked her lips with her tongue.

“──As long as human intervention can be avoided? In that case, I have an idea.”

“……Wow, really? Now this round? No way──”

In the top floor of the Spirit mansion, within the room closest to the corner.

The Spirit Natsumi looked on at her computer while whispering to herself.

The huge screen showcased the back of a hero with a gun and standing on a huge stage. This was
a so-called TPS (Third Person Shooter Game). Because there were no special arrangements
today, she could enjoy online battles until dinner time.

“Ku, damn it, I just got killed. Ah, really, I can’t shoot at all……”
“──Ah, that won’t do Natsumi-san. With your aiming method, it goes without saying you won’t
be able to land a hit on your mark.”

“No, even if you say that……I can’t land a hit even if I aim.”

“As long as it’s a living human, the body will never stay completely still. You shouldn’t try to
forcibly control the shaking of your body. Instead, try to grasp the rhythm of the shaking.”

“You say it like it’s so simple…..eh?”

At last, Natsumi noticed that feeling of unease as she turned her head around. Because of playing
this game, she didn’t pay any special attention to her surroundings as she was casually talking to
someone.

For a moment, Natsumi thought she was chatting with another person’s voice──but that wasn’t
right. In order to avoid talking to others for as much as possible, Natsumi usually turned off the
call function to play the game alone.

──In that case, the voice just now was.

Natsumi looked back in horror──

“Ahaha, good to see you, Natsumi-san.”

“Aaaaaaaa────────!?”

Seeing the face of a girl who arrived here for who knows how long, Natsumi immediately rolled
off her chair. In an instant, the character on her screen was swiftly under fire by an artillery shell
as the text GAME OVER was displayed on the screen.

“Kuru……Kuuuuruuu, Kurumi……!? Why are you in my room……!?”

Natsumi shouted out loud that girl’s name. That’s right. Tokisaki Kurumi. The person standing
in front of her now was the girl who was called the Worst Spirit.

“Ara, ara, please don’t be so surprised. I’m not here to devour you, Natsumi-san.”

Kurumi spoke with a grin. Hearing those subtle and convincing words, Natsumi’s restless heart
grew a little bit calmer.

“……You, what are you after? There shouldn’t be that many times we’ve interacted, right……?

As Natsumi asked that, Kurumi touched her lips with her index finger.

“──There’s something, so please help me Natsumi-san.”

 ◇

“……! I found Marron!”

“Huh, where? Where?”

“Look, you can see from that opening.”

“Jeez, can we switch places, me.”

Eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, sweet Lolita Kurumi, and Japanese Gothic Kurumi were all
lying on the roof ridge of a private house, peeping inside with binoculars. With their shoulders
pressed up and pushing against each other, it looked like they were playing around just like
steamed buns.

Following what the Elite Four was looking at, it was an abandoned house that looked like it
could collapse at any time. Carefully raising their ears to listen, they could vaguely hear the
meows of several cats.

That’s right. This was the abandoned land lot West Tenguu, 2nd district house number 35. It was
the base camp of the Triad Tails and where Marron was currently located. Under Kurumi’s
instructions, the Elite Four were now currently fully observing the scene at hand.

“There doesn’t seem to be any injuries……”

“Hmm. But it looks like Marron is surrounded……no, it should be mentioned that the
surrounding cats all have fierce looks.”

“……! In the far off corner, the huge white cat with a ribbon is……”

“Yes, that is the BOSS of the Triad Tails, also known as the Ghost Emperor.”

The Elite Four took a deep breath while using the binoculars to determine the situation inside.

Although it was fortunate that nothing serious had transpired on Marron, the atmosphere on the
scene didn’t seem friendly. For instance, it was as if Marron, while walking on the street not
knowing anything, was stopped and greeted by the bullet of a hostile power and now currently
being interrogated.

If there was any disturbance, the current scene would almost instantaneously turn into a one-
sided slaughter fest. Drops of sweat traveled down from eyepatch Kurumi’s face. At the same
time, eyepatch Kurumi stood up as her attitude turned more imposing.
“……Me seems to have other considerations……only unless it is a last resort, we will have to
wait. But when that time comes──”

“…………”

Hearing what eyepatch Kurumi had said, the remaining three all shared nervous looks and
nodded.

Immediately afterwards, as if to echo this sentiment, the boss cat sitting deep within the
abandoned hut let out a loud, “meooooooooow” sound.

That voice seemed to be a command for the subordinates. The cats surrounding Marron seemed
to grow more impatient. They lowered their heads one after the other as their fur stood upright
from the tension. And Marron, in a frightened manner, coiled its tail into a ball and backed away.

“……I can’t continue to wait like this, me.”

“Yes, yes. It can’t be helped, let’s go.”

Bandage Kurumi and Japanese Gothic Kurumi quickly stood up.

However──

“……! Wait, me! There seems to be something──”

At that moment, sweet Lolita Kurumi stopped both of them. A black flash traversed through the
image being displayed through the binoculars.

“Huh──?”

Eyepatch Kurumi absentmindedly cried out while widening her eye.

That was to be expected. As everyone let out a gasp of surprise over that radiant flash, the cats
that were about to pounce on Marron all let out short groans while tumbling onto the ground.

“……!”

Eyepatch Kurumi tightly gripped onto the binoculars.

Then, as if to respond to this, a cat stood in front of Marron.

This cat looked upon had black fur as gorgeous as obsidian. The collar on the neck was
decorated with a lovable ribbon. And──the eyes of the black cat were heterochromatic pupils of
different colors.
Although cats were more susceptible to iris heterochromia than humans, this cat’s condition
seemed inconsistent even with that.

Because in the left eye of this black cat──

A golden clock dial was reflected on there.

“T-That’s──”

──Meow.

The black cat let out a short cry and looked around. Immediately, the surrounding fierce cats all
froze at that glare. They lowered their tails and shrank back their ears.

However, this response wasn’t unreasonable. From eyepatch Kurumi’s perspective, the power of
that black cat was overwhelming.

Not to mention her elegance standing just like a noble lady, the look in her eyes was full of
danger just like a trigger that is about to be pulled. Faced with the murderous intent released by
this cat, ordinary cats could only lower their heads.

──Fu…….fu……fu……!

Even when confronted by this situation, the boss cat tried to rigidly support its majesty to the
bitter end. However──

The black cat approached at a slow pace, until finally the boss cat lowered its tail and looked
away. This act was proof for declaring defeat.

──Meow

The black cat let out a powerful roar, using her paw to gently stroke the head of the boss cat.
Afterwards, the black cat walked over to Marron.

Since this black cat had an unknown origin, Marron was still afraid. But for some reason, soon
after smelling that other person’s scent, Marron felt at ease and began to lick the black cat’s face.

──It seems like this matter had been successfully concluded.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Kurumi meowed again and began to lick her front paw.

That’s right. This was Kurumi’s secret plan. By utilizing the power of Natsumi’s <Haniel>,
Kurumi right now had transformed into a black cat.
Well, strictly speaking, this method can’t be described as not directly intervening in the natural
environment──but this method was much better than directly going into the stray cat’s nest. A
cat problem must be solved by a cat. That was the simple truth. It wasn’t because she wanted to
turn into a cat. There was absolutely, absolutely no such reasoning.

Kurumi walked out of the abandoned hut with Marron, stretching out her now arched back. ──If
she could turn into a cat again, she must try this again. It turned out to be sort of thing that made
her feel unexpectedly good.

Now all that remained would be to send Marron back to Sawa. No, before that, perhaps she
should go to Natsumi standing nearby to relieve herself of this transformation. If other people
caught wind of this situation, she would never be able to explain the ins and outs of this matter.
And it would be in poor taste to have Natsumi wait for a long time──

“──Marron!”

As Kurumi was thinking about this, a familiar voice was heard coming from behind.

Looking back, she could see Sawa running over here while panting. It seemed after completing
the search in a nearby area, she had arrived here.

──Meow!

Marron also seemed to detect Sawa’s arrival. So, Marron let out a sharp cry and ran towards
Sawa’s direction. Sawa immediately picked up Marron, stroking the Marron’s back with a
relieved look.

“Really, where did you run off to? You had me so worried!”

As if to respond to Sawa, Marron let out another meow. Looking at this scene, Kurumi let out a
sigh of relief. ──It seems she could forgo having to deliver Marron back to Sawa now.

Just as Kurumi was intending to withdraw from the scene, Sawa appeared to have notice Kurumi
and called out to her.

“Ara? Are you……Marron’s friend?”

Sawa squatted down besides Kurumi while speaking. And then she whispered to Kurumi.

“Where did you come from? Did you come to play with Marron? Thank you.”

Sawa teasingly caressed Kurumi’s throat. ……How to describe this, because of having been her
body had become a cat, this subtle touch felt irresistible. A forbidden voice was let out from her
throat.
Despite this, this couldn’t go on like this. After finding Marron, Sawa will definitely try to
contact Kurumi. And in that case, who knows what the clones would say when seeing this──

“──Ara, ara.”
At that moment.

The most undesirable sound was now shaking in Kurumi’s eardrum.

The Elite Four stood behind Kurumi with an excited look.

“Ah, everyone! Thank you for your help! I found Marron!”

“Well, that’s more important than anything else.”

“So──what about that cat over there?”

“Ah, that cat was staying right next to Marron. I think she’s Marron’s friend.”

After Sawa finished speaking, the Elite Four erupted into laughter as if unable to hold back any
longer.

Kurumi could tell just looking from their expressions──they had all noticed that this cat was
Kurumi.

“So it turns out to be like this. A friend of Marron. ──In that case, this cat looks really
comfortable right now.”

“That’s right. That’s right. You look like a female cat that likes being pampered a lot. So let me
stroke as well.”

“Kya, that body looks like its trembling in fear. Just like this, it’s like it’s too comfortable to bear
even if you want to refuse.”

“Is it here? Or over here? Even if not resigned to this, you seem to be really feeling it.”

So without pause, the Elite Four had a look of joy stroking Kurumi’s body back and forth.

“But, even though there’s such a cute cat here, I don’t see Kurumi ane-sama at all?”

“That older sister is a bit too crafty. Surely she must be off having fun somewhere.”

“Yes, yes. Her running around not knowing we’ve found Marron isn’t out of the question.”

“How many times do you want to be touched. Three times? Is it three times? You sure are
greedy.”

──Uuuuuuuuuuuu (Angry).

Kurumi twisted her body and let out an angry cry.

“U-Um──……everyone? Don’t stroke that hard──……huh?”

As if suddenly discovering something, Sawa frowned. The Elite Four stopped their hands that
were caressing Kurumi’s body and turned to Sawa.

“What’s wrong, Sawa-san?”

“It’s nothing, it just feels that Marron is looking a bit strange……Marron, what’s wrong? Where
does it hurt?”

After saying that, Sawa stared at Marron with a worried look.

Indeed, Marron’s body seemed to be trembling slightly. But there was no visible scars on the
body, so what had happened before Kurumi arrived?

That being said──well, it wasn’t difficult to imagine why. While thinking of this, Kurumi
fiercely twisted her body.

──Meow, meow!

In this manner, Kurumi escape from the Elite Four’s clutches and ran straight into an alley.

“Wah, me──no, little black kitty!”

Like this, while not knowing which one of the four had screamed, Kurumi made a run for it.

Then, after about three minutes, Kurumi arrived at a trail with a complicated terrain and finally
arrived ‘there’. At the end of this dark valley, Natsumi was sitting down with her interest going
back and forth on her smart phone.

──Meow.

“……Hmm?”

After Kurumi meowed, Natsumi raised her eyebrows along with her head.

“Huh……it’s you. Are you satisfied already?”

──Meow.

“……No, I can’t understand what you are saying. How about it? Do you want to change back?”

Natsumi said that with her eyes half-open. Afterwards, Natsumi waved her hand to Kurumi.

“……Fufufufufu……let me change!”
Natsumi closed her eyes, groaning as if in pain. Immediately afterwards, Natsumi’s hand began
to dazzlingly shine──as Kurumi’s body changed back to its original shape.

“……Hehe, thank you very much, Natsumi-san. You were of great help.”

“……Ah, I’m exhausted. Because every time I use Reiryoku I have to think about something
nasty, so I don’t want to do this work for as much as possible. ……You owe me a favor.”

“Yes, yes. I am well aware. ──If there’s ever a situation needing Natsumi-san’s assistance
again; I can’t let Natsumi-san ever feel this sort of pain again.”

“To that extent!?”

“Ahaha, I’m just joking.”

Kurumi winked and then took a deep breath to gather up her own focus──and then <Rasiel>
appeared in her hands.

Seeing this situation unfold, Natsumi immediately straightened up and assumed a fighting stance.

“W-What……?”

“Please don’t worry. The condition of a kitten named Marron seems a bit unpleasant right now,
so I want to investigate the reason. But I can’t show this Angel in front of Sawa-san.”

While talking, Kurumi touched <Rasiel>’s pages.

Kurumi’s fingertips fumbled on the pages of the book, as if drawing forth the trajectory of light.
At that moment, the information poured into Kurumi’s head at great speed.

──And then

“──────────Huh?”

Immediately afterwards, Kurumi let out a confused cry.

Of course, this doubt wasn’t because the Angel couldn’t understand the reasons for behind
Marron’s condition. That information was identified the moment the Angel appeared. It was just
a small thorn caught in the paw. At this level, this could be easily resolved by having a
veterinarian pull it out with tweezers and disinfect the spot.

However, the omniscient Angel <Rasiel> had also told Kurumi other information.

Indeed, Kurumi didn’t limit the scope only to Marron’s symptoms, nor did she place a restriction
on focusing solely on the location of the abnormality. It was because Kurumi was confident that
as long as she had <Rasiel> in hand, she only needs to investigate the ‘matter about Marron’ and
the required information would naturally arrive in her hands.

In the end, as she wished, Kurumi had obtained information about Marron.

At the same moment, <Rasiel> also transmitted the ‘truth’ in accordance to Kurumi’s
instructions.

That was all.

What happened just now was really just that.

“……Kurumi? What’s wrong?”

Kurumi remained silent for a long time. Natsumi asked Kurumi that question with a confused
look.

“………………No. Its──nothing.”

Kurumi suppressed the urge to vomit as she reluctantly let out those three words.

──Nighttime. The date when the changes had already occurred.

Kurumi visited Sawa’s home again. Since Sawa’s home was originally located in a quiet
residential area, this added a bit more tranquility than during the daytime. If not considering the
faint sound of cicadas ushering in the arrival of springtime, then Kurumi’s heartbeat was
probably the loudest noise here.

“…………”

Kurumi tried to reach out her hand, trying to ring the doorbell──but, just as she was about to
touch the doorbell, she lowered her arm again.

Kurumi had already repeated this action several times now.

──Ring the doorbell, then it will all be over. Kurumi couldn’t think of it like this.

Perhaps it would be better for Kurumi to do nothing at all. If so, tomorrow, the day after
tomorrow, or even every day in the future could continue in this daily life.

However, Kurumi ‘understood’ this situation. Even if she stumbled on this matter by chance,
Kurumi was the one to take the bumpy round to arrive here.
“Ah──”

Kurumi lost her voice. She seemed to be mumbling and sighing again.

──After that, Kurumi said goodbye to Natsumi she headed back to Sawa. There, she pretended
to inspect Marron like a doctor, and informed the crowd that Marron had stabbed her paw before
departing.

Then, after returning home, she manifested <Rasiel> again──thinking up anything that would
let her get to the bottom of this situation.

While tracing circles on <Rasiel>’s pages, Kurumi’s hunch gradually changed into confidence.

Betting on this slight possibility, Kurumi even shot the Tenth Bullet <Yud> on herself to awake
her past memories.

Kurumi’s uneasiness──eventually became reality.

Her legs naturally began to walk over to that place.

And then──

──Meow.

“……!”

The melancholic meow caused Kurumi to raise her head.

Present in front of Kurumi’s eyes was the open window on the second floor, and the face of
Marron gazing out at her on that window.

“Really Marron, why are you crying out like that……huh, Kurumi-san?”

“Sawa……san.”

Seeing the appearance of Sawa, Kurumi could only blankly call out her name.

Sawa rubbed her sleepy eyes. Perhaps at last catching on to Kurumi’s abnormal expression, she
opened her eyes and leaned out the window.

“Even though I don’t know what happened……in any case let’s go to the living room. I will
open the door for you immediately.”

“Ah──”
After saying that, Sawa’s figure disappeared and was replaced by the sound of clearly audible
footsteps.

If I leave now, I might be able to continue this daily life. However, it wouldn’t work like that.
Kurumi couldn’t leave here. Just as Kurumi was hesitating, Sawa opened the porch door and
prepared the sandals for Kurumi.

“So, Kurumi-san. It’s cold standing there. Please come in, I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

“Y-Yes……”

Sawa pulled Kurumi’s hand into the house.

“It’ll be ready soon. Please hold on for a minute.”

Kurumi walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. Marron quickly jumped up and
perched next to Kurumi’s side. Kurumi fiddled with the tips of Marron’s tail. Marron, feeling
that this was enough, stood up and shook her body.

“……Hehe.”

Kurumi involuntarily laughed. Probably from seeing this, Sawa let out a sigh of relief while
bringing the black tea.

“Ah, you finally laughed. I wouldn’t know what to do if you kept being so rigid.”

“……Was my expression really that scary?”

“Well, I was wondering if there was a ghost standing in front of my house.”

“……Ara, ara.”

After hearing what Sawa said, Kurumi faintly smiled.

It really felt nostalgic. Ah──that’s right. She had thought the same yesterday during daytime as
well. Sawa always liked Kurumi to the point of teasing her. What made Sawa and Kurumi have
such a close relationship was perhaps due to their shared closeness and both sides saying and
doing as they wished with each other.

Ah, this, really──

“──This is practically the same as the real Sawa-san.”

Kurumi said that almost unconsciously.

Kurumi didn’t say that with any sort of goal in mind. It was just──for Kurumi, the previous
shock had already disappeared. The moment she had come here, Kurumi was already mentally
prepared.

“Huh──?”

Hearing what Kurumi had said, Sawa stared blankly.

However, she seemed to have realized those words weren’t a joke and sighed softly.

“……Ah. So that’s it. So you found out, Kurumi-san.”

Then, Sawa lowered her head and sadly spoke.

“……You already knew? That you aren’t the real Sawa-san?”

“No. I didn’t know. I just noticed it. ──This is certainly, because Kurumi-san wants to know an
‘answer’ for this cause.”

After listening to what Sawa said, Kurumi sighed as she understood the meaning behind those
words.

That’s right. This was exactly the ‘truth’ that Kurumi had obtained.

While investigating Marron’s condition, she realized that Marron wasn’t the real Marron.

No──it wasn’t just Marron.

Kurumi’s crimes being redeemed as if all was well and good.

Mana’s body being cured.

──The dead Sawa being resurrected was also the same.

After Mio’s death, this new world where everything was fine──all of this was false.

At that moment, Kurumi understood. This sense of disobedience, the absurdity of this entire
world that was forcibly inserted during its creation (all of this was a lie).

However, until yesterday, Kurumi didn’t notice this. This must be the power of this world.

This dream-like space created by the Spirit who snatched away Mio’s Sephira Crystal during the
last moments just as it was about to disappear. That person was the true God of this world.

With that being the case──there was only one thing Kurumi should do after understanding this.
“──Sawa-san.”

“I must expose this world. Certainly, I must pass this truth to the people with power.

“Because I, still haven’t achieved anything until now.”

“Yes. Kurumi-san should press forward with what she believes in.”

Sawa nodded without hesitation.

Debunking the world──this behavior was equivalent to eliminating the world where Sawa and
Marron lived.

However, even with full understanding of this, Sawa still stared directly back into Kurumi’s eyes
and nodded.

──This is entirely a forcibly inserted world. For a moment, Kurumi thought that it was because
she expected this Sawa to give such an answer.

However, Kurumi quickly shook her head again. ──If it was the real Sawa, she would have
definitely made the same reaction. Because she was a girl like that, Kurumi had vowed on her
life to get her back.

“──Sawa-san. I will say goodbye to you for now. I will definitely come back for you someday.
So until then, please wait for me.”

“──Alright. I will wait for you. Because Kurumi-san has no friends. So maybe you’ll be lonely
if I’m not there?”

Sawa shrugged while speaking. Hearing Sawa’s words, Kurumi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Then, I should go. ──Sawa-san, I finally think.”

“Hm, what’s wrong?”

“……Just for a while, can I lean on you for a bit?”

After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa slightly widened her eyes and suddenly laughed.

“Of course. Who are you and what have you done to Kurumi-san? ──It’s just that the price may
be a little high like that.”

“Ara, ara.”
Kurumi bitterly smiled, burying her cheeks in Sawa’s chest, falling down──crying for a bit,
really only crying for a little while.

As if to tear through the night sky, the silhouette of a girl took a great step forward in this world.

Kurumi, who had left Sawa’s house, was walking on the deserted street with her heels tapping
against the ground.

“──We.”

As if chanting, Kurumi muttered to herself.

Immediately afterwards, Kurumi’s shadow expanded several times. In this manner, an unknown
number of Kurumi climbed out from the shadow. The figure of four people wearing different
outfits from the rest was also among them.

All of them had been shared with the information from Kurumi’s head. The truth of this world
that Kurumi had learned, Kurumi’s determination, all of it was transmitted into the mind of every
Kurumi.

One footstep turned into two.

Two footsteps turned into four.

Four footsteps turned into eight.

The solo resonating in the night sky had now turned into a chorus that shook the earth.

“So, let’s go, we. ──The other party is a Spirit who created this world, a Spirit that is almost a
God. No matter how it is done, let us used our power to its fullest extent.”

“──Fufu, is this revenge for deceiving me?”

The clones said with a smile.

Kurumi suddenly smiled and shook her head.

“How can I? ──This was really, a good dream to return to.”

──This was world of dreams created by a Spirit for a certain someone.

At the same time, it was also a world destined to collapse.

In that case, for Kurumi, helping her was the only thing she could do in this matter.

“Now──shall we start our war?”

A gust of wind rolled up Kurumi’s beautiful hair.

The clock piece reflected on her left eye, which was unceasingly turning, now looked bewitching
under this moonlit night.

──For Tokisaki Kurumi, the time placed into a gentle nap by this world was now flowing once
more.
Tohka President

“──Visiting Japan. Brought on air weekly, the spotlight on the new entrepreneurs with innate
talent in the economic world──”

With that narration, the title jumped onto the TV screen as the background music started to echo.

This was an economics documentary that is broadcasted every Thursday evening. A program
aimed for developmental growth, it is the official record for introducing the economic situation
of Japan and other countries in the world. This show offers a unique perspective with relaxed
narrative. Although the content was still relatively serious, it not falling behind in its
entertainment quality caused it to gain popularity.

Despite having said that, the Itsuka family had few opportunities to watch this show. The reason
was simple. The family members and guests who frequently visited this house were too young to
be interested in this type of program. Around this time, the Itsuka household TV would broadcast
TV shows from other channels or be used as a screen for video games.

But, today was special because──

“──Today’s guest is a representative of the YATO Corporation, its chairperson Yatogami

Tohka.”

“Umu! Nice to meet you!”

A familiar girl appeared on the screen.

She had long night colored-hair tied up and a pair of beautiful crystal-like eyes. Although her
lovely facial features still looked childish, her form fitting black suit and high grade black frame
spectacles showcased she was already a person with a lofty status in society.

“The developmental speed of YATO is unprecedented in the entire world. Like a modern
Sunomata Castle, what is the secret behind this behind this rapid growth?”

“The secret to growth……hmm, shouldn’t that just be a choice of losing weight or growing
thin?”

“So it turns out it’s about extensive development and not nitpicking about work. What president
Yatogami speaks should serve as the model of the selective few that have established a huge
joint venture in only a single generation?”

“Hmm? Well, it’s just like that. The important point depends on new ideas.”

“…………”

“…………”
As the residents of the Itsuka household were watching the show, Shidou and his little sister
Kotori had sweat dripping down their faces.

“……So, how did it become like this?”

Kotori, while fidgeting the ends of her hair tied together in twin tails with black ribbons, asked
while having one eye open.

“Even if you ask me……”

Shidou scratched his face as he replied back, looking again at Tohka smiling on the screen.

The origin of this incident had appeared not too long ago.

“Hmm……”

During a certain night, as Shidou was washing the dishes in the kitchen, a soft moan was heard
coming from the living room.

Looking over there, Kotori had a serious look on her face, staring at her tablet while sitting on
the sofa. Shidou washed the dishwashing detergent out of the bowls, wiped his hands, and
walked over towards Kotori.

“What’s wrong, Kotori? Is it another job again?”

“Ah……well, for the time being let’s just say it is that.”

Gently twirling the lollipops in her mouth, she turned the tablet’s screen to Shidou. The name of
a company appeared on top of the neatly arranged paragraphs.

“What is this? A company?”

“Yup. This is──an overview of related companies to the parent company Asgard Electronics.”

“Wow, there’s that many.”

Looking at the list crammed into the crystal screen, Shidou couldn’t help but sigh. As far as
Shidou was aware, it included several enterprises ranging from heavy manufacturing all the way
down stationary manufacturing. It turned out that their plentiful funds seemed to be raised
through these channels.
“So, what is the issue here?”

Naturally, with all of these companies, it’s improbable that they are all preforming well. I’m
considering merging and abandoning some enterprises. When DEM was active, these companies
had the task of dispersing DEM’s influence, but that is no longer necessary.”

“Hm──”

Shidou nodded his head to indicate understanding.

A British company, a magic association that aimed for the power of the Spirits──DEM was their
greatest adversary, but in the previous battle, its leader Isaac Westcott was defeated and since
then DEM has steadily lost its footing. The anti-Westcott faction in the company launched a
rebellion with DEM now suffering from internal strife.

“So that’s it……but this should be a problem for Asgard’s management section. Is this
something that the commander needs to handle?”

“Well, for the time being I’m also a part of the company, so it’s not like I’m completely
uninvolved.”

“Hmm──……huh?”

With the impression that there must be some inconceivable content there, Shidou slanted his
head. However, Kotori didn’t seem to notice this as she continued on.

“Well, after a cursory look, the first candidate should be this one.”

While saying that, Kotori operated the cursor. Shidou once again looked onto the screen with a
puzzled look.

“Eld Foods……a food company?”

“Uh huh. It was originally established with the goal of developing food for Spirits. In the
beginning, we didn’t know if pure Spirits could eat the same food as humans, so various studies
were conducted. Well, something like that is useless now.”

“Haha……that’s true.”

Shidou shrugged as he turned to the pots and pans stacked up in the drainage faucet. ──What
was left behind after the Spirits had finished eating.

“While small, this company still has employees with a cover business on the surface. ……But,
since this company is continuing on losing money, it shouldn’t be much of an issue to merge it
with the food department of another company. This deserts factory can continue being of
use──”
“──Deserts factory!?”

At that moment, a voice full of energy echoed as if to interrupt Kotori.

Taking a look, Shidou found Tohka, who was watching TV with the other Spirits, turned towards
their side.

“A deserts factory, is that a place where you make deserts!?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re well informed.”

“Umu, there was a TV special feature about deserts factories airing before. How
impressive……so many snacks were transported in a conveyor belt and ready in a flash……”

Tohka looked completely entranced as her shaking hands intertwined with each other. Shidou
and Kotori couldn’t help but smile at this sight.

“Certainly, you do look very enthusiastic about this……”

“Umu. Of course, I’m interested about this. Not just the deserts factory, new product testing,
development, repeated trials……the deserts displayed in the store are actually infused with the
passion of some many people.”

While saying that, Tohka vigorously nodded her head. It was a very Tohka-like dream.

Probably understanding that, Kotori turned to look at Tohka.

“Huh, is that right? Then would you like to give it a try?

“Hm?”

“So, doing stuff like trying out the original products. You want to give a look and try, right?”

“What……”

Perhaps finally understanding what Kotori was saying, Tohka’s eyes widened as her hands
started to tremble.

“R-R-Really!?”

“Yup, the basic equipment should be available there, so that ought to work.”

Kotori proudly nodded. Shidou whispered to Kotori as sweat dripped down his face.

“Hey……is it really okay to make a decision like that so easily?”

“No problem. Anyway, the company is going bankrupt. The company set up for Spirits has
finally returned to its original intention by realizing one of the Spirits’ dreams──anyway, the
current company employee plan is to be transferred to an affiliated company. Tohka, if you want
to do this, you should be the president.”

“Ooh! Can I!?”

“……Hey!? You are serious Kotori!”

Shidou couldn’t help but cry out. But Kotori gently waved her hand.

“Isn’t that great? There is still time before the merger. This can be a good social experience.”

“Even if you say that, to suddenly become president……”

As Shidou and Kotori were talking, the Spirits who were listening on to this conversation also
began to gather.

“Hehe. You’ve just describe something interesting.”

“Request. Please also include Yuzuru and the others.”

“Tohka-san as president……I also want to watch.”

“Ah──, I want too as well. It looks like there’s good benefit to be ensured.”

Everyone looked on with eyes gleaming with interest. As if to console everyone, Kotori spread
out her hands.

“Alright, alright, I understand. Then as for the position……never mind, let’s just follow Tohka’s
idea.”

After hearing what Kotori had said, the Spirits started to grow more nervous. Shidou helplessly
sighed.

“──Shidou, Shidou.”

“……Hm?”

Among the noisy crowd, Tohka started to pull on Shidou’s clothes. Shidou slanted his head as he
turned towards her.

“What’s wrong, Tohka?”

“I forgot to ask……what is a president?”

“…………:”

And just like this, Eld Foods ushered in a difficult business reopening.

A few days later, the employees of the company gathered in the conference room of Eld Foods.

……Well, despite calling it a conference room, it was actually just the narrow room of a corner
in a building that was partially used for both commercial and residential purposes. The company
employees that gathered here all also had familiar faces.

The Spirits gathered around a long table reinforced with cardboard to prevent it from shaking. In
front of everyone, there were nameplates with each person’s position written on it.

They were──

President Yatogami Tohka.

Senior Management Director Yoshino.

Management Director Hoshimiya Mukuro.

Section Chief of Human Resources Natsumi.

Section Chief of Marketing Tokisaki Kurumi.

Section Chief of Propaganda Izayoi Miku.

Special Missions Chief Tobiichi Origami.

OL Yamai Kaguya.

OL Yamai Yuzuru.

Part Timer Honjou Nia.

A sign labeling Shidou as First Secretary also stood on the desk. Standing beside him was
Shiizaki Hinako, a staff member with the position of Second Secretary.

“Ah, hello……Shiizaki-san is also here.”

“Ahaha……the commander asked me to come. But I was originally affiliated with this
company……”

“Huh, is that true?”

“Yes. Because I can’t say that, “I work for a secret organization” to my parents and friends. So
on the surface, I am an employee of an affiliated company. The deputy commander belongs to a
security company. If I recall, Nakatsugawa-san is affiliated with a toy manufacturing company.”

“So it’s like that……”

As Shidou and Shiizaki were talking, there was a sudden ‘thump!” sound of the table being
struck. Turning over to look, Nia spoke with an unhappy look on her face while pointing at her
position card.

“Hold on! Everyone else has official positions, why am I the only part timer! I demand an
improvement in my treatment!”

Nia stood up while also lifting up her placement card.

Then, Shiizaki scratched her face apologetically.

“Sorry, Nia-san. There is a reason……”

“What is the reason!? Bullying!? Is it bullying!? I won’t suffer in silence!”

“Our company is prohibited from engaging in side businesses.”

“Speechless!”

Nia collapsed onto the table. That’s right. Nia originally had a job as a manga artist.

“Hey, hold on. Doesn’t Mikki also have a side job?”

While speaking, Nia turned to look at Miku. That was true. In addition to being a student, Miku
was also engaging in side activities.

However, Miku raised a finger while not being in the least concerned.

“Even though I am a section chief, this isn’t really a formal position, but rather calling forth a
collaborative effort……well, you can consider it something just like a one-day store manager.”

“Ah, so it’s like that……uh, can I also be like that!? Then can I at least be called an OL like
Kaguyan and Yuzurun……”

Nia pouted while saying that, but just like that Kaguya and Yuzuru revealed fearless smiles.
“Contrary to expectations, there is indifferent to this matter, but can it really possible for thou?”

“Description. OL stands for Operational Lady. This means feigning being an ordinary staff
member and advancing investigations in the dark, the equivalent to a modern female ninja who
decides success or failure through commercial espionage.”

“What a terrifying role.”

Nia leaned on the table as if giving up. ……OL generally meant Office Lady in
English……well, those two would generally engage in something like this. Shidou bitterly
smiled.

Then, likely noticing that things were finally settling down, Shiizaki coughed a few times to raise
her voice.

“Uh……now then let’s begin the new product meeting for Eld Foods──president, if you will
please.”

“Umu!”

Tohka energetically nodded in response to Shiizaki.

“I am the president Yatogami Tohka! Nice to have everyone onboard! So, let’s talk about the
strongest snack I’ve thought of right away. Everyone should have the information on hand.”

After speaking, Tohka motioned to the top of the table. Everyone had few sheets of paper pinned
together with small paperclips. Incidentally, this was what Shidou had gathered last night after
listening to Tohka’s wishes.

“I thought of this when creating a new product. Rarely designed new products shouldn’t just
make one person happy; instead, let’s try to make it widely accepted by everyone──so I came
up with this. Everyone please turn to the next page.”

Listening to Tohka, the Spirits flipped through the information.

“This is……”

“Mun…..”

“U-Um……”

Then, everyone started to display identical complicated looks.

But this couldn’t be helped. After all, what was written on this was──
“Kinako chewing gum.”

“Kinako flour potato chips.”

“Kinako beverage.”

It was entirely a collection of kinako products.

“To my knowledge, modern people lack a cure for being calm and tranquil. So what gives a calm
and peaceful feeling? ──That’s right, it is kinako flavor.”

However, Tohka, seeming to not notice everyone’s reactions, continued her giving enthusiastic
speech.

“That gentle flavor, that reassuring aroma……and also being nutritious. Soybeans
iso……iso……”

“Isoflavones.”

“Yup, that’s the one.”

After Shidou whispered that, Tohka vigorously nodded and continued on.

“The effect produced by this substance is good for the body. It can relax the body and mind. For
this era full of murderous intent, the bounty of kinako is necessary! Kinako together with kinako
shall serve as restraints! I hereby call this the kinako social contract!”

Tohka raised her fist and shouted. Several of the Spirits were caught by her momentum and
started clapping……in fact, regardless of the content; Tohka’s speech itself had an incredible
appeal. Regardless of content.

“Kinako……although I don’t hate it, does it really fit well with potato chips?”

“That’s certainly true. No judgement can be made without actual tasting.”

Natsumi and Kurumi looked at the data while saying that.

Then, Tohka, as if expecting someone to say that, turned to look at Shidou.

“──Shidou!”

“Alright.”

As Shidou gently nodded, a small trolley filled with kinako products was pushed in from outside
the conference room.
That’s right. Shidou didn’t just help make the speech. He also made various prototypes based on
Tohka’s ideas.

“Attentive. There was no expectation of a prototype……”

“It doesn’t look too bad from a first glance.”

The Spirits, while lively discussing with everyone, grabbed the prototype with their mouths
trembling after eating trial product.

“……S-So it tastes like this……”

“Mun……Muku doesn’t detest this.”

Subsequently, they all began thinking with complex expression marking their faces. Judging
from that look, although it was still unknown if this product can be sold, the product seemed
much better than expected.

But no one raised any objections to this. After all, this proposal was made by the president who
held the authority to make the decision. Moreover, in the end this company itself was a stage
built for Tohka’s original products.

The Spirits looked at each other and nodded.

“Um……Then, let’s give it a try.”

“Yes, just like that. Then the design of the outer packaging should be handed over to Nia.”

“That task is too heavy for just a salary woman…..but I’ll do it.”

“Then I’ll be responsible for destroying competitors.”

“N-No you don’t need to do such a thing……anyway, Origami, what is Special Missions Chief
supposed to mean……”

As the Spirits stood up and were noisily chattering, Tohka nodded her head in satisfaction.

While watching everyone, Shidou secretly whispered to Shiizaki.

“……Shiizaki-san. I feel that everyone is getting excited, will this turn out okay?”

“No problem. Generally speaking, the balance may lead to a deficit. But with the budget
allocated, even when not counting online sales, there are supermarkets set up within Asgard’s
affiliated companies. So it’ll be set up in the related stores there. This isn’t just about creating
products, but also the pleasure in seeing those products be sold in stores……or so the
commander said.”
Scratching her face, Shiizaki bitterly smiled. So it turned out to be like this. Shidou nodded while
expressing his gratitude for his little sister’s thoughtfulness.

At the beginning, Shidou was still imagining how this would develop. Certainly, it would be
better to do this. Shidou, looking at how Tohka was happily exchanging opinions with everyone,
also smiled.

“Uh……”

The morning of a few days later. A sharp noise coming from the side of his pillow caused
Shidou to wake up.

For a moment, Shidou thought that it was the sound of an alarm clock, but that wasn’t quite it.
This sound was the ringtone coming from his phone.

“Who would, this early in the morning……”

Shidou rubbed his eyes, reaching out to grab his phone, pressing the reply button, and then
placing the phone next to his ear.

“……Hello, this is the Itsuka residence──”

“──Shidou-kun!”

In that moment, a loud scream pierced through Shidou’s joints. Shidou flinched as he put some
more distance between himself and his phone.

“That voice……Shiizaki-san? Did something happen?”

“S-S-S-Something huge happened!”

“Something huge……? What’s going on?”

Hearing Shiizaki in such a panic, Shidou raised the upper half of his body back up.

His confused brain woke up all at once. What the hell happened? Could it be that something
happened to the Spirits’ bodies──?

“──Sold.”

“Huh?”
“Like I said──sold out! The product that Tohka-chan came up with! It’s on an explosive sale!”

“…………………………Huh?”

Hearing Shiizaki’s cry from the other side of the phone, Shidou let out a dumbstruck voice.

“Explosive sale……? Was it the kinako flavor potato ships or something?”

“That’s right! The kinako chewing gum, the kinako flavor drink, and all the various other
products are all sold out in an instant, and the price is still increasing from online reselling! The
company’s phone has been ringing non-stop since this morning!”

“H-Hold on. How did this happen!?”

“That’s what I want to ask! Anyway, this is a big deal! I’ll send a car over, so come to the
company immediately!”

Those last words felt almost like a scream. Then the phone hung up.

After changing his clothes while in this confusion state, Shidou climbed downstairs and left the
house.

──What happened next could be described as the spark of inspiration lighting up.

Eld Foods, which had unexpectedly produced this hot product, immediately decided to increase
production. Products such as kinako potato chips, which had been sold online now, arrived at the
specific stores and received several orders from retailers across the entire country. The product
instantly became a popular national snack.

With the huge turnover from this, the board of directors consisting of Tohka, Yoshino, and
Mukuro decided to increase factory capital for edible snacks (limited mostly to deserts). And at
the same time, new product development had also begun.

A distinctively mature spicy kinako powder, a sample of new distinctive home-food kinako
powder, and also someday in the future this would lead to the legendary completely authentic
kinako powered machine──

All of this had set astronomical sale records and Eld Foods operating income had increased to
over 10,000 times compare to its downturn.

The unprecedented kinako boom had arrived. A yellow storm had swept over the entirety of
Japan.
The board of directors decided to let the company go public and Eld Foods’ stock price
skyrocketed, establishing new record highs.

At the same time, Yoshino and Mukuro started stock trading. They gained huge profits through
their instincts. And by using that to buy more shares, they repeated the company merger process
and integrated many other companies as subordinates. This also included the companies
affiliated with Asgard Electronics that were originally planned to merge with Eld Foods. Despite
living together all year round, Shidou had never heard Kotori be this excited before.

When there were more than thirty affiliated companies, Eld Foods made an announcement of
integrating its subsidiaries. The company’s name was changed to YATO Corporation. A giant
comprehensive company involving multiple industries was born.

……Of course, a prediction like this was nothing but conjecture.

It was as if the existence of a God in this world was being partial to Tohka, with her fortunes
being as endless just like the stormy waves.

“W-Why…….did it become like this……”

The Secretary-General of the YATO Corporation, Itsuka Shidou, said that blankly.

Shidou was neither in his own house nor in a bleak one-story building. They were located in a
skyscraper building in the core region of the city. When Eld Foods changed its name to YATO,
the company had moved here.

The wide room was covered with soft velvet blankets, and there was an oversized desk inside for
working with documents. Incredibly, this wasn’t the president’s office, but the secretary-
general’s office prepared solely for Shidou.

“──YATO’s──kinako──”

After hearing this voice, Shidou raised his head. Miku showed up on TV that was always on.

She was wearing a cute kimono like a tea shop poster girl, holding a container of kinako bread in
her hands. Next to her was the mascot that anthropomorphizes the soybean meals, Kinakomon

This was an advertisement from the YATO Corporation. When the company was still called Eld
Foods, Miku was active as the company’s advertising centerpiece and made tremendous
contributions to public relations.

“…………”

Shidou silently operated his phone which displayed the SNS messages.
On the screen,

“Sure enough, YATO’s kinako flavor is the best.”

“Cold kinako is a must for this year.”

“Kinakomon’s leather belt is so cute.”

The piles of content were written like this.

……Although not all of them, the majority were written by Kurumi’s clones, the so-called army
recruited for posting messages on the internet.

Shidou was also well aware. At the beginning, products like the kinako powder potato chips
wouldn’t be on the radar for sparking conversation topics, so it seemed that Kurumi’s influence
was behind that. Among the numerous clones, their existence was brought forth to increase the
number of supporters. Kurumi called these individuals, the leaders of me.

“……That’s being too capable.”

As Shidou sighed, a knocking sound was coming from the door.

“Ah, please come in.”

Shidou turned off the TV and replied back. And then, a woman opened the door and entered the
room.

──A staff member of the YATO Corporation, the head secretary, Shiizaki.

She wasn’t wearing a uniform, but rather a high quality suit. Additionally, while probably due to
a physiological effect, her makeup was much more seriously applied than before.

“Secretary-General, it is almost the time for the meeting.”

“Ha, alright……then let’s go.”

Shidou gave a half-hearted reply as he stood up from the chair.

……As of this moment, Shiizaki was now calling Shidou as Secretary-General and Tohka as
President. After the company has grown so big, this may have been unavoidable, but Shidou still
felt it was awkward.

“Say……do I need to attend the meeting?”

“What are you talking about? Isn’t that the job the Secretary-General needs to do? It can be said
that the success of the meeting depends on the Secretary-General. Ah, please don’t forget to
prepare?”

Shiizaki raised her index finger as she spoke.

“Okay, okay.”

Shidou picked up the huge bag in the secretary’s room and left the room with Shiizaki, taking the
elevator to arrive at the primary meeting room above.

“Ooh, you’re here Shidou!”

As Shidou approached the conference room, Tohka, who sitting in the innermost position in the
round table, energetically greeted him.

“Ah, everyone came early.”

Shidou slowly raised his hand as he spoke, and then looked inside the room.

This large room was incomparable to their old dilapidated meeting room. On one side, the glass
wall was reflecting the skyscrapers in Tokyo.

However, the people sitting around table since the period of Eld Foods hadn’t changed at all.
Tohka, Yoshino, Mukuro, Natsumi, Kurumi, Miku, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami──the Spirits
gathered around the table while dressed in top quality suits.

“Ah, Darling!”

“Mun, kept Muku waiting, Nushi-sama.”

“Fu, a corporate soldier is still a soldier regardless. That is to say, this is also the Yamai’s
battlefield.”

The Spirits smiled and spoke without any restraint. While societal people rely on clothing,
nothing on the inside had changed. Shidou vaguely smiled while breathing out a sigh of relief at
the same time.

“──So, please today as well, Shidou. Hurry up with the first thing.”

After saying that, Tohka raised a finger.

“Ah, okay.”

Shidou opened the bag in hands and then handed over a stick wrapped in high-quality paper to
Tohka.
This was a premium chocolate cigarette (kinako flavor). Tohka couldn’t think properly without
eating this.

“──Shidou, me too.”

“Sorry, can I have one too……?”

“……Ah, in the end I also……”

The Spirits all raised their hands in turn after Tohka.

“Alright……”

Shidou took out the snacks and drinks in the bag and handed them over to the Spirits in turn.
Because everyone had different preferences, Shidou’s bag ended up being packed full with
various snacks every time.

……This was what Shiizaki described as a must-do Shidou type of work. Well, to be honest,
compared to a Secretary-General, this was more like the work of a used car salesman or a sports
stadium vendor.

“Okay, Yuzuru was potato chips; Miku is vanilla tea……hey, huh? Are we missing one person?”

At that moment, Shidou had noticed. There was a feeling of a faint tapping sound coming from
somewhere.

Looking towards the direction of that sound, Shidou saw Nia appear on the other side of the glass
wall. She was wearing a dark gray jump suit with a helmet, hanging on a gondola outside of the
building. It looked like she was cleaning the windows.

She seemed to be saying something, but she couldn’t be heard through the thick glass. Nia
seemed to notice this as well as she used the cleaning spray to write something on the window
with her finger.

“Everyone·dressed up·in suits·is·very arousing·right?”

“…………”

Even like this, she was still saying stuff like that. Shidou couldn’t help but feel a bead of sweat
drip down.

Having noticed her presence, Shiizaki hurried to pull down the curtains.

“So, let’s begin the meeting.”

“Ignored!?”

Looking at Shiizaki’s cold reaction, Shidou let out a loud yell. Shiizaki sighed before continuing
to explain.

“This is punishment for secretly drinking in the company. Without a punishment dealt, it would
set a bad example for the other employees. As long as she takes her work seriously, she can
come back.”
“A-Ah……”

Listening to this very Nia-like reason, Shidou scratched his face.

In this manner, the YATO Corporation’s board of directors meeting had commenced.

“──So, today’s issue is about using kinako powder noodles in addition with fried chicken.”

“Huh……do those two things go together?”

“The raw material is soybeans, it ought to be feasible.”

“Acknowledge. Make a trial product and send it to the market if delicious.”

“No objections.”

“No objections.”

“No objections.”

“──Then, the next issue. The bidding prices for the residential development projects of Nanmu
New Town have been announced, please confirm the request.”

“Un, the game department filed an application to develop a new app.”

“Also, the pharmaceutical department made a proposal to develop a new drug──”

“Hold on, how the conversation changed that drastically!? Are you saying that this company also
does that as well!?”

Shidou loudly screamed.

──The meeting ended after about two hours.

The topics were rich and diverse, from the establishment of a green energy sector, to the
introduction of new industry rules for convenience stores, and to go as far as the commercial
development of Soybean Pro becoming the centerpiece of a theme park. When the topic came to
space exploration, Shidou gave up thinking. Tohka only felt reluctant at space development since
it meant sending soybean flour towards the cosmos.

“Hmm……”

After finishing the meeting, Tohka stood up to stretch before turning to Shidou,
“Even though the meeting was interesting, but I’m hungry now. Shidou, it’s almost time to
prepare lunch!”

“Um……? Ah, right then…..”

Although Shidou was left mentally exhausted from the information gathering, he still agreed.
During the meeting, Tohka was eating snacks. But for Tohka that didn’t count for a meal at all.

At that moment, Shiizaki, with a tablet in her hands, walked towards Tohka.

“Unfortunately president, at noon we need to discuss the overseas construction and the other side
will host a party. Now we need to be heading to the hotel where the meeting place is located,
please be prepared.”

“Muu……right. It can’t be helped. Let’s go, Shidou.”

Tohka grunted in dissatisfaction, but still followed Shiizaki. Shidou also followed suit.

But before leaving the meeting room, Tohka seemed to have thought of something as she turned
to the Yamai Sisters and Origami.

“──Ah, that’s right, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami. I think it’s about time, but please take care of it
you guys.”

“What is about time?”

“Un, it’s just some troublesome work. Shidou will know about it soon anyway.”

“Hmm……”

Was it another industry to start? Shidou softly replied as he left the meeting room with Tohka
and Shiizaki.

After preparing to head out, the three of them left the company building in order to go to the
meeting spot.

Wearing a long coat over her black culottes suit, Tohka had a pair of sunglasses to cover her
eyes, making her look more like a mafia boss rather than a company president.

“President, the car is ready.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Tohka briefly replied as she walked towards the black high-end sedan at a brisk pace. While
watching this business exchange occurred, Shidou smiled wryly.
Just at that moment──

“──Shidou, move a little farther away from me.”

Just as they were about to enter the car, Tohka spoke with a frown.

“Huh? Why, Tohka, what──”

That moment, with a bang, the sound of something breaking through the air echoed, as Tohka’s
body faintly moved.

By the time Shidou noticed, Tohka’s fingertips were holding a smoking bullet.

“Huh……? Ha……?”

Shidou, who failed to comprehend what was going on, couldn’t hold back his shock. He looked
back and forth between Tohka’s face and the bullet in her hands.

However, Tohka seemed to have anticipated this would happen. She took out her smartphone
from her pocket and started to make a call.

“──Hey, Kaguya? It’s me. I was just sniped. Judging from the firing line, it should have been
shot from the roof of the Fujiwa Building. Grab the snipper immediately……what, already
captured? As expected of the OL. You work quick.”

“Huh……Huuuh!?”

“──Umu, I am fine. Trying to defeat a Spirit at this level is almost delusional. Yes, it’s probably
one of Kuroi Real Estate’s subordinates. They’re likely still hold a grudge on the bid for Tenguu
Hills.”

“Huuuuuuuh!?”

“──Hey, Origami? As you heard, the sniper is under control. I will leave it entirely up to you.
Muu. We better reinforce the real state sector here. Let’s turn Kuroi Real Estate’s headquarters
into a kinako museum.”

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!?”

Shidou, unable to keep up with things, could do nothing else but let out lamentful cry.
──Afterwards, the rapid development of the YATO Corporation continued.

Eld Foods completed a miraculous rebirth. And Tohka, as the new president of the YATO
Corporation, received invitations for speeches and TV shows. There were also commissions for
consulting work and business reconstruction. Some companies even wanted to invite Tohka to
join their companies as a special consultant.

“Muu? Okay.”

Despite Tohka failing to fully understand this, she still accepted. She rebuilt several businesses
and was called a talented entrepreneur. The business published an autobiography, Yatogami
Tohka, Huge Kinako, that became a popular must-read book for people who are interested in
business management. Incidentally, while the person smiling on the cover was Tohka, the actual
content was written by Natsumi. Nia’s window cleaning skill also became super powerful.

Nowadays, there was nothing that Tohka couldn’t do or anything that Tohka couldn’t reach.

Tohka’s continuous victories forced other people to take the above statement seriously. With a
fortune comparable to landing sixes in dice 1000 consecutive times, Tohka ravaged the market
and dominated the economic world.

“…………”

YATO Corporation, the time was evening at the president’s office.

Looking behind at Tohka who was standing by the wall and overlooking the brightly lit city,
Shidou softly sighed.

──In retrospect, they really had experienced a lot.

In the beginning, they only planned to have some fun. A company that was on the verge of
collapse had been retooled into manufacturing Tohka’s original deserts.

Unconsciously, this sowed the seeds for the company to sell one hot product after another,
engulfing so many things in instant to the point of becoming like this now.

In front of Shidou was a hegemon of the economic world that could mobilize 100 million yen
worth of funds at the press of a finger. Not even the government could ignore Tohka’s ideas
now.
The young girl’s dreams gradually expanded and transformed into an unexpected monster.

“…………”

Shidou’s heart felt uneasy.

From the perspective of time, this happened all in an instant. It was such a brief twinkle of an eye
that it could be used to persuade someone that this was all a spring dream.

But in such a short time, Tohka had obtained so much. Wealth, fame, status, power──she almost
fulfilled all of the desires that humans pursue.

So, Shidou grew a little scared. Will Tohka turn into a Tohka that he wasn’t familiar with──

────Gu.

Just at that moment.

“……Huh?”

As Shidou was thinking this over, he suddenly heard that sound.

After a short pause, Shidou noticed──it was a sound coming from Tohka’s stomach.

“……Muu, I’m hungry.”

Then, with a slightly embarrassed look, Tohka rubbed her stomach.

“──Ha.”

Looking at this, Shidou couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahaha, ahahahaha.”

“W-What’s wrong, Shidou, there’s no need to laugh. No matter who it is, the stomach will
grumble when hungry!”

“N-No……haha, sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that……I just feel reassured. No matter how
successful, Tohka is still Tohka.”

“……Muu? Isn’t that obvious? What are you saying, Shidou?”

Tohka frowned as she slanted her head. From these movements that can only be described as
cute, Shidou laughed again.
“Anyway, this company really has become big. At the very beginning it was almost all over for
it.”

“Umu! It’s because of everyone’s efforts! But……”

Tohka fidgeted her hands in embarrassment as she softly spoke.

“The company’s situation is good, but it’s been a bit too busy lately……there’s rarely the chance
to eat the meals prepared by Shidou.”

“Aah……that’s true.”

Recently, Tohka has been having dinner with dignitaries of economic circles and politicians from
various countries, often eating at high-end Japanese restaurants. At the beginning, Tohka’s eyes
were shinning from the rare dishes, but it seemed that she still felt happier with the other Spirit
that knew her personally, so her mood had been a bit low recently.

Shidou also felt that Tohka being like this was quite pitiful. But more importantly, there was the
happiness felt that Tohka would rather eat his home cooking over the set menus of the high-end
restaurants.

“Alright.”

Shidou clenched his fist and grinned.

“Speaking of which, because it’s been so busy lately the celebration for the new product is gone.
Let’s go home to eat for today. Everything Tohka wants to eat will be made.”

“……! R-Really, Shidou!”

After Shidou said that, Tohka rounded her eyes wide and leaned forward.

“Y-You said everything, right!? You’ll really make everything!? Hamburgers, curry, omelets,
anything!?”

“Well, of course. I won’t be stingy and make only one thing after saying that. Every request I’ll
do it! Even fried chicken and sausages.”

“T-To go that far……!”

Tohka looked up at the sky like a devoted believer who had just witnessed a miracle. Her body
slightly shook to express her gratitude.

“This……has my approval! Alright, let’s go home immediately!”

“Right, we can’t forget to buy ingredients on the way back.”

“Umu!”

However──

“──You can’t!”

Immediately afterwards, a voice came to interrupt the two of them.

Taking a look and not knowing for how long, the president’s secretary──Shiizaki stood there
with sweat dripping down anxiously.

“S-Shiizaki-san……”

“We discuss this before! President! Today we’ll be having a meal with the chairman of the
Federation of Economic Organizations! Please prepare immediately!”

“Muu……uu……”

Tohka stared at Shiizaki with a disgruntled look.

“……Do I really have to go?”

“No! Tohka-chan……you are the president!”

“…………!”

As Shiizaki shouted, Tohka’s eyes suddenly widened.

──It was as if noticing something.

“……Un, right, just like that. Hehe. Isn’t that quite simple?”

Then, she nodded as she walked to the window.

Tohka pushed a button on the wall. Accompanied by a deep turning sound, the large glass
window slowly fell into the floor. The night breeze blew into the room as the documents on the
desk fluttered with the wind.

“Bah……! P-President, what are you doing……!?”

Shiizaki screamed while shielding her eyes from the sudden wind pressure.

Then, Tohka smiled as she took off her hairpin and tie. Her long dark hair fluttered with the night
wind as her dark colored necktie danced in the darkness.
“──The goal has been achieved. I will resign from the post of president as of today. Is that
alright?”

“What──”

After Tohka finished speaking, Shiizaki opened her mouth in shock.

“H-How can this be! Such a sudden resignation……! Without the president, what should this
company do!?”

“Muu? Like this, then……”

Tohka placed her hand against her chin, as if thinking something over──and then turning to look
at the direction of the window that she had just opened.

There she likely noticed. There was a cleaning gondola outside of the window that was now
swaying back and forth from the wind pressure──and at this point in time; there was a cleaner
on this gondola.

“──Nia.”

“Wah! What’s wrong Tohka-chan? Please don’t open the window so suddenly!? It’s super
scary!?”

Tohka stared at the gondola and then towards Nia who was standing there.

Tohka placed her hand on Nia’s shoulders.

“──The next president is you, Nia! I’ll leave it to you!”

“…………Huh? What did you just say?”

Those sudden words turned Nia’s eyes into two blank dots. Standing behind them, Shiizaki had
the same look on her face.

However, Tohka didn’t care. She moved quickly and tightly grabbed hold of Shidou’s hand.

“Alright, let’s go home, Shidou! Can you hold onto me tightly?”

“Huh? This is……waaaaaaaaah……!?”

Firmly grasped by Tohka’s hand, Shidou couldn’t help but scream.

But that was unavoidable. Grabbing onto Shidou’s hand, Tohka pulled him into a princess
carry──and then jumped from the building window to the night sky.
“Hehe──hahahaha! So comfortable, Shidou!”

“Ah……um, yeah……hahahaha!”

Despite the dreadful floating sensation covering him from head to toe, Shidou still gave a laugh
of self-abandonment. Tohka and Shidou disappeared into the night together.

──Afterwards, the YATO Corporation, which had sustained a miraculous growth, was met with
a sharp decline after Tohka resigned as president.

It was as if a God had said, “……Hmm? So Tohka left, then forget about it” and subsequently
lost all interest in the company.

The Spirits seemed to realized that their original goal had already been reached and left the
company one by one. Realizing that the mood had turned sour partway through, Shiizaki came to
Tohka with a box of deserts as a gift.

It seemed she was scolded by Kotori for being a staff member that continued to do things against
what the Spirits had wanted. She apologized. Well, since someone like Tohka didn’t care about
this at all, she was more interested in Shiizaki’s snack and thanked her instead.

In any case, after this twist of events, the Spirits returned to their daily lives.

“──Alright, I’ve kept you guys waiting!”

“Ooh!”

Today’s supper was a special golden fried dumplings that Shidou made from scratch through a
step by step process. The gold-colored dumplings on the large plate caused the Spirits led by
Tohka to all stared on with brightly lit eyes.

“S-Shidou, let’s eat it while it’s still hot!”

“Haha, that’s right. Then, itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu!”

The Spirits around the table pressed their hands together as they spoke before tasting the flavor
of the dumplings.

Seeing this familiar and picturesque scene, Shidou couldn’t help but smile.
At the same moment.

“……Hmm?”

Feeling as if he had heard something familiar, Shidou turned his attention to the TV in the living
room.

A press conference of the YATO Corporation was being broadcasted on the TV. The YATO
Corporation, whose stock price had plummeted like Niagara Falls, appeared to have been
acquired by the Asgard Electronics’ subsidiary company in accordance to the initial plan. The
male employees were answering the reporters’ questions with heavy looks.

Listening carefully, he could hear the voice of someone yelling, “Let me go, I am the president!”
from a corner of the screen.

“Stop her! Don’t let the president pass by!”

“Please give up! There’s nothing else we can do!”

“Damn it! This is my company! I finally got ahead in life!”

“…………”

A press conference that was somehow both subdued and noisy. Cold sweat was dripping down
from Shidou’s face.

However, Tohka, whose attention was preoccupied with dinner, didn’t seem to notice this.

“Umu! Sure enough, compared to those high-end restaurants, it’s still the best to eat the food
prepared by Shidou with everyone!”

Tohka, with her mouth stuffed with steaming dumplings, smiled.

Mana Again

Located in the residential area of East Tenguu’s residential area, the Itsuka household was the
picture-perfect image of a leisurely afternoon as the current time was 3:00 PM.

The bright sunlight shining through the lace curtains illuminated the teapot and teacups placed on
the table. The cookies on the plate were homemade. Although their shapes were somewhat
different depending on the maker, each had their own special flavor.

“Fu……”

Shidou sighed while taking a sip of the black tea. While the rich and fragrance of the black tea
spread in his mouth, the steam fluttered up and soon disappeared into the air.

When paying attention to this normally uninteresting sight, it showcased how relaxed the current
mood was. Shidou smiled while looking at little sister sitting at the opposite sofa.

“How to describe it, it’s really been a long time since something like.”

“Right. Even though being busy isn’t bad, having this once in a while is nice.”

Kotori gently nodded as she spoke. Her hair tied up with her white ribbon faintly swayed from
this movement.

With only Shidou and his little sister Kotori in the living room of the Itsuka household, this was
the so-called afternoon family tea time.

While this was a common scene a year ago, but with the focus on handling Spirits now and the
construction of the Spirit mansion, such moments became very few in number now. Shidou
deeply sighed while taking a sip from his drink again.

This was the feeling of living a peaceful and leisurely life; the illusion of time passing slowly. In
that case, it was good to occasionally reach this state of mind. Shidou placed the tea cup back on
the cup holder and gently stretched.

──At that very moment.

At that moment, fierce footsteps, which came from the direction of the corridor, broke open the
calm and steady atmosphere. The door to the living room was forcibly opened.

Shidou instantly thought it was a Spirit──but that wasn’t it. An unexpected face had appeared
from the door. Looking at her, both Shidou and Kotori’s eyes widened at the same time.

“Huh………?”
But that was a natural response. After all, in front of them was their mother who should be
working abroad──Itsuka Haruko.

She had a slim figure with short hair. Likely from running all this way, she was having trouble
breathing with sweat falling down from her forehead.

Despite having said that, this wasn’t the problem. Haruko never informed Shidou and the others
when they were coming home. And today’s temperature was relatively high, so a person would
sweat after a little exercise (all of this was par the norm).

The problem was the tears in her eyes.

“M-Mom……?”

“What’s wrong, you look flustered……”

After Shidou and Kotori asked in surprise, Haruko took a deep breath as her gaze became
sharper.

“Shii-kun, Koto-chan, please listen.”

After pausing for a while, she made the firm resolution to continue.

“I…………I want a divorce!”

That explosive statement caused Shidou and Kotori to turn to look at each other──

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!?”

At the same time, both of them let out a blood-curdling scream.

──Pushing the clock back a bit.

“Ah, longtime no see my hometown!”

After about two and a half hours of taking a direct bus from the airport, Haruko, who got off at
Tenguu Station, took a deep breath and lazily stretched.

Haruko, as an employee for the large electronics manufacturing company Asgard Electronics,
usually lived in the United States where the company is headquartered. However, the land of her
birth still filled her with a sense of ease. She looked at the building in front of the station, the
fountain and the mysterious dog statue. Taking a breath in, it was as if the air of her hometown
was circulating in her body.

“How to describe this, there’s finally the feeling of arriving home. At the airport there was still
the feeling of inexplicably going back to English, but now I’ve finally completely switched back
to Japanese mode.”

“Ah──……I understand, I understand.”

Responding with a wry smile, her husband Tatsuo was standing right beside her.

Wearing black-framed glasses, he was a simple man of sparse words. He was now wearing a
light coat and carrying a large portable suitcase.

Like Haruko, he was also an employee at Asgard Electronics. That’s right, as a married couple,
both of them were working abroad.

“Speaking of which”, while looking at Tatsuo’s expression, Haruko scratched her face as if
recalling something.

“With what’s going on, I suddenly wanted to go back to Japan. Of course, I want to completely
see that Shii-kun and Koto-chan are completely fine as well.”

That’s right. Haruko and Tatsuo returned to Japan several times a year during long
vacations──but this time they used their annual paid leave after suddenly deciding to come
home.

Of course, a similar situation had happened before, but this was basically because Haruko threw
a tantrum and said, “my Shii-kun and Koto-chan are gone……”, only then did Tatsuo make the
extraordinarily rare proposal of going home.

“Aah──”

Listening to Haruko, Tatsuo adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“Um……there’s also a small person far away that I want you to see.”

“Person you want me to see……?”

Hearing those words, Haruko gave a suspicious look.

“Who is that? A new Spirit?”

The Spirits under protection frequented the Itsuka household. They had met several of them
once. However, while Haruko and Tatsuo were in the United States, two new Spirits had joined
them.
“Nothing bad, but it’s a special person. I think Haru-chan will be very surprised.”

“Huh, don’t tell me it’s the queen of Enka──Daidouji Miyuki. Is that right?”

“……Sorry, for not living up to your expectations.”

Tatsuo sincerely lowered his shoulders in regret. Haruko smiled wryly and patted him on his
back.

“What are you upset about? I’m just kidding. I’m looking forward to it. Takkun has never told
me to take paid leave before, so there must be a reason, right?”

“Un, thank you.”

After Haruko finished speaking, Tatsuo slightly nodded.

This man was as straight-laced as ever. Haruko continued with a wry smile.

“Well anyway, shall we go home? Let’s go. ──Ah, but before that I need to go to the restroom,
can you wait for a bit?”

“Ah, sure.”

Tatsuo nodded. Haruko lightly waved her hand as she departed for the powder room.

“…………”

Looking at Haruko’s back as she walking to the restroom, Tatsuo sighed.

──So far it had been a success. Despite Haruko being a little suspicious, he managed to get her
to return back to Japan without giving away the purpose of this trip.

Everyone may think this as a minor crafty ploy, but for Tatsuo who could never hide anything
from Haruko, this was a major event.

Despite having said that, Tatsuo did everything to see Haruko’s smile. Tatsuo renewed his
determination as he clenched his fist.

The reason why Tatsuo suddenly asked for annual paid leave and to return to Japan──as he told
Haruko before was because there was someone that he wanted Haruko to meet.

Tatsuo had noticed this person’s existence a few weeks ago when he was browsing the database
due to work.
Although that person was originally a DEM Wizard, Tatsuo was left speechless upon seeing her
name and appearance.

It couldn’t be. After all, this person is──

“──Um, that person from the back, is that right?”

“……!”

Hearing that voice, Tatsuo turned around while astonished. Right there the girl was standing
before his very eyes.

Her age looked around 14 to 15 years old. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and a tear-shaped mole
was underneath her left eye. Despite being petite, she was standing upright full of confidence and
giving a feeling of oppression just like a gallant wolf.

“Sure enough! Long time no see, Tatsuo-sempai!”

At that moment, the girl spoke with a smile. That look caused Tatsuo to feel inexplicably deeply
moved.

But that was only natural. It was because her appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest from 30
years ago.

“Yes, long time no see──Mana-chan.”

After Tatsuo replied like this, the girl called Mana smiled once again.

That’s right. She was Takamiya Mana. Around 30 years ago, she was Haruko’s close bosom
friend who had disappeared.

Unexpectedly, she had been kidnaped by DEM, her memories tampered with, and transformed
into a Wizard. But he could only believe in that after seeing her in person right now. His
thoughts focused on these inconceivable turn of events, Tatsuo could only strained a smile.

And then, Mana turned to look at Tatsuo’s face with interest.

“Wow, nothing special has changed about you in thirty years, sempai.”

“Nothing when compared to you.”

Hearing Mana’s words, Tatsuo shrugged. Relying on the Realizer Manifestation Device for
metabolic control or perhaps simply through the use of deep sleep. Either way, Mana’s
appearance hadn’t changed at all.

“Ahaha, that’s true.”

Mana smiled happily, but then frowned upon recalling something.

“Speaking of which, what about Haruko? Shouldn’t you two be together?”

“She went off to the restroom. Rest assured, I haven’t told her anything about Mana-chan.”

“Ooh, thank you──hehe, I can’t wait to see Haruko’s shocked look.”

After saying that, Mana playfully crossed her arms. Certainly, she was looking forward to this as
well. After all, this was reunion after thirty years.

“Kya, but relatively speaking, that really startled me. Tatsuo-sempai’s marriage to Haruko was
expected, but I never expected you would be Kotori’s parents.”

“I was surprised too. When going over Wizards, suddenly one was written as Takamiya Mana.”

“Well, a lot of things happened. As for what is frightening, aren’t you Nii-sama’s parents now?
Hmm, would it be better if I also call you my parents as well?”

Mana touched her chin with a subtle expression.

Mana’s older brother──Takamiya Shinji was an old friend of Tatsuo. He also disappeared 30
years ago like Mana──but after various twists and turns, he now has the name Itsuka Shidou and
was living as the adopted son of Tatsuo and Haruko……well, Tatsuo only recently learned about
this.

“Um, it feels a little bit unimaginable hearing Mana-chan call me father.”

“Fufu, my Nii-sama’s father is my father. What do you say──Otou-sama!”

“H-Hey, please spare me.”

“Shouldn’t that be fine, Otou-sama──it must be difficult to see each other after such a long
time!”

Mana grabbed Tatsuo’s hand in a joking manner. That innocent look forced Tatsuo to only reply
back with a powerless smile.

“Hum~hum~~hum~~...”

Haruko, who had left the restroom, was humming as she was walking over to the place where
Tatsuo was waiting.

While thinking of seeing Shidou and Kotori immediately, Haruko’s mood naturally became more
cheerful. Of course, this time they went back home without telling them in advance. Haruko and
Tatsuo were both fond of surprising the other……well, because it was in their nature to be like
this, they certainly had a fright the last time they went home.

Despite having said that, they now knew there were Spirits coming in and out of their home. It
would also be fun to meet them after such a long time.

“Say──”

On the way there, Haruko whispered to herself.

Speaking of which, there was one point in Tatsuo’s words that warranted Haruko’s concern.

“Person you want me to meet……who on earth is that?”

Tatsuo took the initiative to apply for vacation. Supposedly, he was very confident that this
would shock her. Who was this other person? Someone he wants me to see……that meant either
someone she hadn’t seen before or maybe someone she hasn’t seen in a long time. If it were like
that……

“Ha, is it Shii-kun’s girlfriend……?”

Haruko frowned. Incidentally, the possibility of Kotori having a boyfriend also flashed in her
mind. But if that was the case, Tatsuo’s mood ought to be gloomier.

Well, the same also held true for Haruko. If Shidou or Kotori ever got a lover, Haruko would
want to congratulate them, but it wouldn’t be true if she said that she wouldn’t feel lonely at all.

“Yeah, shocked, but not necessarily joy……”

Haruko shook her head as she reorganized her thoughts. That’s right, stuff like, bringing a debt
collector and saying, “Actually, I owe a lot of money……”, or bringing a music teacher and
saying, “Actually I plan to live my life through hip hop now,” or saying “actually there is
someone else I love……” and bringing the object of fancy or an illegitimate child. The
possibility of all of this wasn’t zero.

“──Then again, something like that would be impossible for Takkun. Ahaha.”

Haruko smiled as she waved away these bad thoughts that flashed through her mind. Tatsuo
would report any financial issues to her one by one and his singing level wasn’t enough to make
a career out of music. And more importantly, her Tatsuo having a love affair would be──

“…………”

At that moment, Haruko was left speechless. She didn’t have any doubts over Tatsuo’s love for
her, but one of his danger points was his skill in misunderstanding women. In the workplace as
well, likely due to his gentle personality and rational manner of speech, he was very popular
among female coworkers. He was very gentle to everyone but woefully unprepared to withstand
temptations. ……Speaking of which, he seems to have secretly contacted someone recently…?

“No, no, no, how could that be……”

──At that moment, Haruko stopped.

In front of her, there was Tatsuo and a girl.

The other person looked to be around junior high age. She looked like an energetic girl.

Well, this much was fine. If it was only this, Haruko would probably imagine that the other
person was simply asking directions from Tatsuo.

The problem was that the girl and Tatsuo were holding hands and talking in a very close manner.

“H-Hey, please spare me.”

“Shouldn’t that be fine, Otou-sama──it must be difficult to see each other after such a long
time!”

“──────”

Haruko heard the conversation.

The phone in her hands fell to the ground.

As Tatsuo was talking to Mana, there was suddenly the sound of something dropping coming
from the right.

“Huh?”

Tatsuo turned to look and saw Haruko. It looked like she had already returned from the restroom.
Her entire face looked inconceivable and as her complexion turned grey.

In that moment, Tatsuo thought that she was surprised at seeing her missing best friend──but
that wasn’t it. She looked baffled. This was indeed surprise, but rather than being deeply moved
from being pleasantly surprised, she was trembling in anger.

“OOOOOOOOOOOO…….Otou-sama……?”

Haruko pointed her trembling finger at Tatsuo as she said those words in shock.

“Ah.”
Hearing that, Tatsuo widened his eyes. Speaking of this situation just now, it would likely cause
a huge misunderstanding.

“A-An illegitimate child……? And also around the same age as Koto-chan……could it be that
you wanted me to meet──”

“No, Haru-chan, please listen to me, she is──”

“──Takkun is a huge skirt chaser────────!”

Haruko yelled and interrupted Tatsuo and the ran away like this.

“Um……ooh……so that’s how it went……”

Haruko, who had rushed back to the Itsuka residence, finished crying and blew her nose after
drinking the black tea Shidou handed her. Black tea could help eliminate worries, but it was
likely still difficult to recover from something like this. She was still softly sobbing.

“Dad would actually……”

“Are you sure you weren’t mistaken……?”

After Haruko told Shidou and Kotori the story, they both looked at each other with a doubtful
look.

That was natural after all. Indeed, the matter was discussing their father having a secret love
child from who knows when.

Having said, their earnest and honest to a fault father──Tatsuo, and a unfaithful man with a
secret love child, it was difficult to reconcile those images together.

Moreover, for Shidou who had regained the memories of Takamiya Shinji through his encounter
with Mio, Tatsuo and Haruko were both his foster parents and also his former friends. Hearing
that they were about to divorce, Shidou’s mood grew even more complicated.

“Mistaken!? How can there be any mistake about holding hands with a junior high school
student and being called Otou-sama!? How could it be a custom that took root here during my
absence from Japan!?”

Haruko emotionally placed down her cup and yelled……well, it was exactly as she said.
However, even so, Shidou couldn’t silently watch his parents have a divorce crisis. Shidou tried
to continue comforting Haruko’s fears.

“Calm down. Did you really hear her call him Otou-sama? Maybe you heard it wrong……”

“Yeah. And even if he was called Otou-sama, doesn’t that not necessarily have to mean your
own father? For instance, that sort of father that lends out pocket money……”

“Isn’t that also very problematic──────!?”

Hearing what Kotori had said, Haruko shouted again. Shidou gave a ‘what are you saying’ glare
at Kotori who quickly then expressed an apology.

“Ah really……I used to think it would be dangerous! That man has been inexplicably admired
by girls in the past and has the physique of a natural lucky pervert……plus he doesn’t know how
to reject others! In the end, he is too nice to everyone! So of course he would be deceived by a
wicked woman!”

Haruko groaned while clutching her head. Not being able to tell if this was praise or an insult,
Shidou couldn’t help but force a smile.

“This is starting to look like public display of affection……”

As Shidou said that,

“Anyway! Betrayal must be met with the price in blood! The iron hammer must be lowered
against this skirt-chaser! I must ask for a large sum of divorce compensation……! Shii-kun and
Koto-chan will definitely choose their mother, right……!?”

Haruko stretched as she approached them. Indeed, neither Shidou nor Kotori were adults yet. If
their parents divorced, they would need to choose which one of them they wanted to live with.

However, this wasn’t something that could be easily decided. After Shidou displayed a troubled
look, he spoke slowly to calm down the overly excited Haruko.

“If what mom says is true, then there’s nothing that can be done about this. ….But anyway, let’s
listen to what dad has to say for the time being. Mom, didn’t you run away without listening to
dad’s explanation? Perhaps there’s the reason behind this?”

“That’s right. Alright, let’s call dad’s phone first……”

After talking, Kotori skillfully took out her cell phone and tapped on the screen.

Likely from seeing Shidou and Kotori’s approach, Haruko jerked her face as a trail of tears fell
from her eyes.
“Waah……waah──────! Even Shii-kun and Koto-chan──────! This household is already
no longer my harbor──────!”

“Ah……um! Mom!?”

Shidou tried to stop her but it was already too late.

Haruko loudly cried out. She stood up from the sofa and then frantically rushed out from the
house.

“……Sorry. Mana overstepped my boundaries with that joke.”

Mana lowered her head apologetically. Tatsuo shook his head slightly with a wry smile.

“Please lift up your head Mana-chan. I know you didn’t do it maliciously.”

“That’s certainly true……but it still caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.”

“Ahaha……but that’s also because Haru-chan hastily made a mistake coming to a

conclusion……”

Tatsuo scratched his face, picking up the phone that Haruko dropped and placed it in his bag.

“Right, she can’t be contacted like this……it can’t be helped, let’s go back to my house for the
time being. I think Haru-chan will definitely go there. Anyway, we’ll need to explain the
situation first. This way she should understand.”

“Yes, that’s right……”

Mana sighed again as she raised her face. Tatsuo gently nodded lifting up the suitcases and
crossing the square in front of the station with Mana.

“But that was quite unexpected, she didn’t even notice me. We used to meet up every day before.
Well, after not seeing each other for 30 years, I guess there was no other way……”

On the way back to the Itsuka residence, Mana caressed her face while speaking.

Tatsuo looked on at her while awkwardly whispering.

“Well, that may be true, but I also wouldn’t even imagine that my old friends would look the
same as they used to be. If the name wasn’t written on the data, I probably wouldn’t have noticed
either……”
“Ah, it’s true to hear that. People do generally get older.”

Hold on, that was like comparing Mana to celestial being living secluded in the mountains.
Tatsuo couldn’t help but laugh at that thought. ──Actually, as ageless people that could exert a
power beyond human wisdom, Wizards could be considered a celestial-existence.

As the two of them were talking in this manner on the way back to the Itsuka household,
Tatsuo’s phone suddenly began to shake.

A look on the screen showed Kotori’s name being displayed. Tatsuo tapped the reply button and
answered the phone.

“Hello? Is this dad? Just now mom suddenly ran away after coming back home crying……and
what’s this matter about an illegitimate girl?”

Kotori asked suspiciously. Hearing those unexpected words, Tatsuo expressed a painful look.

“Aah……um, that’s because……”

As Tatsuo briefly explained the reason for the current situation, Kotori let out a surprised voice
upon listening.

“Huh? It’s because of Mana? So it turns out Mana is an old acquaintance of mom and dad?
What, if that was the case, it would have been better to have made that clear earlier.”

“Sorry. I wanted to surprise Haru-chan……”

“Anyway, I understand the situation now. We’ll try and search from our side as well. Then, let’s
contact each other afterwards.”

After saying that, Kotori hung up the phone. While walking beside him, Mana looked on in keen
interest.

“Was that Kotori? What’s the matter?”

“Um……Haru-chan, she went home first but then ran away crying to somewhere else
again……”

After Tatsuo said that, Mana let out an “ah……”, scratching her face as if realizing their
predicament.

◇
“Wa……waaaa……”

After leaving the Itsuka house, Haruko wandered aimlessly until arriving at a nearby park.
Anyway, there was no other place to go, and even if there was, her unpresentable crying state
made her hesitant.

Haruko sat down on a bench in the park, squatting down and whimpering. The cold early spring
wind even blew a chill into Haruko’s heart.

“……Ugh……”

Not knowing how long this took, Haruko’s shoulders suddenly jolted in surprise.

The reason was simple. A pair of feet entered Haruko’s field of vision, who was squatting down
and facing the ground.

“Mun……what’s of concern? Is there an aliment in your body?”

At that moment, such a voice was heard from above her. Haruko held her breath slightly and
raised her face.

In front of her was a young girl. A slightly childish look combined with a pair of gentle eyes. Her
age looked similar to Kotori. Her long hair was tied in three braids wrapped around her
shoulders.

It seemed she was worried about Haruko squatting alone on the bench and came over to talk.

Without having anyone to rely on, Haruko burst into tears again when confronted this girl’s
tenderness. Having said that, crying any further would just make this girl even more worried.
Haruko barely managed to wipe away her tears and shook her head.

“……I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m not injured or sick.”

“Mun……”

As soon as Haruko answered, the girl whispered and sat down right next to Haruko.

“W-What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s impossible to be fine. Crying without any pain or illness is a serious matter. There’s no
harm in speaking and being listened upon. Even if it’s merely taking part in a discussion, your
mood should improve.”

“Huh……? B-But……doing something like this to a stranger I’ve never met before…….”

“Mun, then please excuse me. Muku is called Hoshimiya Mukuro, a person who lives nearby.”
The young girl spoke while looking directly into Haruko’s eyes. Although Haruko thought, “I
shouldn’t be talking about this……”, but when looking at the serious look in her eyes, Haruko
paused for a moment.

“…………”

Of course, Haruko was not an exception of easily telling personal experiences to a stranger she
had just met for the first time. But the current situation was special. After all, she was lending a
helping hand to Haruko who was in such a depressed mood──and most importantly; there
wasn’t a hint of ridicule in her sincere eyes. They told her that she was genuinely worried about
Haruko.

“……Um, then I’ll respectfully take your invitation and talk for a little.”

Haruko spoke, and then as she hesitated in clearing her throat, she began to talk.

Then, after a few minutes had passed.

“──There was actually such a thing! Don’t you think that’s too much! Damn it, he already has
me!”

In the end, Haruko was only hesitant at the very beginning. In fact, Haruko didn’t want to
confine in anyone. But as the topic progressed, her tone grew more and more agitated as she
finally entered a drunken rant without drinking anything.

“Mun, so the scenario is like this……this truly is an excessive matter.”

The girl──Mukuro listened to Haruko’s words in a very calm manner and responded seriously.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Haruko to be more enthusiastic about complaining then beforehand.

“Right!? Mukuro-chan thinks so as well!? So in the end this can only be settled with a divorce!?”

“…….Mun.”

However, as Haruko said that aggressive statement, Mukuro’s face strained itself for the first
time. Then, Mukuro touched her chin as if thinking about something.

“Um……what’s wrong? Mukuro-chan.”

As Haruko asked while slanting her head, Mukuro let out a small “no”, lowering her eyes then
shaking her head.

“What Haruko said certainly holds truth. In regards to those unreasonable and rude, they ought to
be given a piece of one’s mind.”
“Right!? So it can only be like this!?”

“Yes. Already having a beloved wife and still be addicted to other women, that is truly a
heartless rat, scum among men.”

“R-Right! Ah really, thinking about it again……!”

Haruko struck the palm of her hand while her other fist in a rage. Mukuro clenched onto her arm
while nodding.

“Muku doesn’t imagine he can still maintain human reasoning. Such indecency is akin to a beast.
He should be struck down to death with a club.”

Then, just like this, Mukuro began to speak something dangerous. Confronted by this sudden
situation, Haruko couldn’t help but be stunned.

“……Huh?”

“This is merely a just end for committing the crime of adultery. Well, after all it’s a maniac that
even has his brain tissue infringed upon by beastly desires. Perhaps through only death can he
understand his own faults?”

“N-No……it’s not like that……relatively speaking, that person is honest to a fault and has little
boldness compared to me who always takes the initiative. He must have been forced by the other
party……”

“What. Are you pushing the blame for those sins only on the other party? It’s filthy and
shameless. For these scoundrels, you need to give up on them as soon as possible. It’s best to
find a new husband. The same goes for the child that would turn a deaf ear to Haruko.
Presumably they lack honor just like their father. It’ll be wise to remove the roots before they rot
from their true nature.”

“Don’t……don’t say it like that!”

Hearing these vulgar words coming out from the mouth of a cute girl like Mukuro, Haruko
couldn’t help but yell.

“Like I said, even though an illegitimate child is unforgivable, it makes no sense to say those
things about Takkun without knowing about him at all. Moreover, this has nothing to do with the
children! The two of them, both of them are my good and precious children──”

At that moment, Haruko had finally noticed.

Listening to Haruko’s words, Mukuro was displaying a gentle smile.

“Mukuro-chan, you……”
“Mun.”

After Haruko called out her name, Mukuro slowly nodded.

“The reason why Haruko is angry and sad is because you still deeply love your partner and
children. ──If what Haruko said holds true, then the matter is indeed serious. Perhaps the end
result of parting is inevitable.”

However, Mukuro continued on with a, “but”.

“It’s simple to destroy, but not easily to restore. Such is the case of family. Muku advises you
that no matter what the end result may be, you shouldn’t do anything that will lead to regrets.
The situation must be seen through with a calm heart. ──Never repeat Muku’s mistakes.”

“……”

After hearing Mukuro’s words and seeing her sad smile, Haruko was left speechless.

──Perhaps something similar had happened to her in the past. Her expression was sufficient
enough in convincing others of thinking it like this.

The feeling of blood rushing to her head was suddenly cooled. ……Ah, thinking carefully,
Mukuro’s sincere advice was the same that Shidou and Kotori were trying to persuade her with.
Why didn’t she listen to them at that time? When considering that, Haruko’s heart was filled
with regrets and shame.

After washing her face with cold water, Haruko finally calmed down. She held her hand against
her forehead, shaking her head before raising her face and letting out a sigh.

“……Thank you. My mind has finally calmed down.”

“Muku didn’t do anything to merit thanks……Muku used to be helped by others when in pain.
Now it’s merely doing the same thing as that person once did.”

With that, Mukuro’s face slightly turned red. Haruko had to ask after squinting her eyes.

“Huh……that person you mentioned, is he a boy?”

“! How did you know?”

“Ahaha, women’s intuition──he must be a good man. Shouldn’t you not let go of such a boy so
easily? Of course, that means you can’t let other girls snatch him away either?”

“Mun……that is certainly true.”

Mukuro touched her chin and let out a whisper. Seeing this very cute look, Haruko couldn’t help
but loosen her cheeks.

“Anyway, you were of great help. ……I’ll go talk to him first.”

“Mun.”

After listening to Haruko, Mukuro happily smiled.

“──Not over here. Where is she?”

“I haven’t found her here either.”

After Mana shook her head, Tatsuo repeated the same gesture.

The two of them were in a corner of the residential area of Tenguu city. After first leaving
behind the luggage at the Itsuka house, the two of them searched around the home to find the
missing Haruko.

Shidou and Kotori were also looking for Haruko, but it seemed that they had little progress as
well. After looking at his phone without any new calls, Tatsuo sighed.

“Really, where did you go? I can’t think of anywhere else……”

“Well……let’s hurry up and find her to fix this misunderstanding……”

As both Mana and Tatsuo crossed their hands with troubled looks, a puffy car horn echoed
behind Mana.

“Huh?”

After hearing that sound, Mana looked back to see a woman riding in a small automobile
appearing there. She was wearing old sportswear with her jacket completely split at the seam.
The serious googles matching her felt slightly off like a painted ornament.

“Hey, Manacchi. What are you doing here?”

“Nia-san!”

Mana cried out her name after seeing her. That’s right; she was a manga artist who lived in this
city, the Spirit Honjou Nia.
“……Hmm? Who is that middle-age man over there? Hmm.…...a harmless glasses user/feigned
the ever-popular uke role/a brute with spectacles/or a look fit for simple innocence. Which one?
How terrifying.”

“I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about, but what you said is probably not within the
boundaries of my knowledge.”

Mana opened her eyes and let out a sigh.

“This is Nii-sama and Kotori-san’s father. He is a researcher as Asgard Electronics and

connected to the construction branch that built <Fraxinus>. Additionally, although the reason for
it is a bit complicated, he was originally my sempai.”

“Hello, my name is Itsuka Tatsuo.”

“Huh, boy and imoto-chan’s? ──Hey, and you’re the person that built that? That’s really
amazing. But that AI on that ship feels subtly tough on me in particular. Is it a bug? If it’s still
within the warrantee period, please take care of it.”

“Is that right? I didn’t receive any reports……”

As Tatsuo scratched his face in confusion, Mana strained a bitter smile.

“──Sempai, this Honjou Nia-san, a Spirit.”

“Huh, a Spirit?”

Hearing what Mana had said, Tatsuo turned to look at Nia again. Seeing the spotlight on her
now, Nia let out a proud “humph’ sound. In response to that, Mana sighed.

“Yes. But only about 70% of her words can be taken seriously, so please don’t take her
seriously.”

“Hey, you’re as cold as ever Manacchi.”

After saying that, Nia laughed. Actually, Mana didn’t mind Nia that much. But since Tatsuo was
the type to take everything he heard seriously, she had to inform him of this.

“Hmm, Itsuka Tatsuo……the father of boy and imoto-chan……”

Nia seemed to be thinking something as she touched her chin. Mana slanted her head in wonder.

“No, I’m just thinking of what nickname to give. Don’t you think that everyone loves my
nicknames?”

“Not at all……”
Despite being against it, she gave the always serious Mana a nickname that sounded like an
aquatic creature. But Nia didn’t seem to care. She clapped her hands after thinking something up.

“Well, I’ll call you papa since that’s easy to understand.”

“……Only that point alone should be forgotten. I feel like seeing something previous unfolding
before my eyes again.”

Mana sighed as she shook her head. Tatsuo also had a troubled smile on his face.

“Huh, what’s with this weird way of refusing? What happened?”

Nia’s eyes blinked. Mana glanced at Tatsuo as they briefly explained the situation.

“I see, I see, so that’s what this is……the old misunderstanding routine.”

Nia started nodding as the very corners of her mouth turned into a grin.

“But in that case, the two of you are very lucky.”

“Huh?”

As Mana and Tatsuo’s eyes widened, Nia raised a finger up and exclaimed.

“Did you forget who I am? The one who possesses the super invincible omniscient Angel
<Rasiel>, the girl with a super beautiful soul──Nia?”

“Ah──”

Hearing those words, Mana raised her voice.

That was certainly true. The Angel <Rasiel> she owned had the alias of being the omniscient
Angel. The Angel had the level of power to understand every natural phenomenon in this world.
With this, it wouldn’t be difficult to find out where Haruko is.”

“Really……it’s just as you say.”

“Humph. That’s right. Not just location, I can figure out what she’s doing as well. Although
inner thoughts can’t be seen, it’s still possible to tell that she’s angry from her words and actions.
It would be good to rush in when your opponent is at her most calm.”

“I see……this is more efficient. I didn’t notice this because I was under the impression that
<Rasiel> was Tokisaki Kurumi’s Angel.”

“W-Who is it you would rather make an exchange with!?”

Being told that by Mana, Nia couldn’t help but yell out. A lot of things had happened during the
final battle against DEM and Kurumi had also obtained <Rasiel>. It seemed that Nia was still
concerned about this.

“Ah, that’s right. If you keep talking like that, I won’t check for you!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. Please if you will.”

“I can’t say no to Manacchi ……”

Nia grunted and snapped her fingers.

Then, light particles began to concentrate into the shape of a book.

“Ooh…..!?”

Seeing this unfold, Tatsuo cried out. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Even if he had already learned
about this from the data, this was the first time he saw an Angel manifest before his very eyes.

Probably because Tatsuo’s reaction was what she wanted; Nia smiled as she put the book on the
page.

Then, she closed her eyes to concentrate as her fingers flicked over the pages.

“Hmm……it doesn’t seem like she’s left the residential area. Hmm? Someone is next to her.
This is……Mukku-chin?”

“Mukuro-san?”

Mana’s eyes widened at that unexpected name. Hoshimiya Mukuro. Like Nia, she was also one
of the Spirit that had her Reiryoku sealed by Shidou. Did she end up encountering Haruko when
she was alone?

However, Nia didn’t respond to Mana, still closing her eyes while frowning.

“Say, wow she’s in a terrible mood. She seemed to have calmed down not too long ago, but now
she feels super angry? You can see a bright flame burning in the background. Mukku-chin’s
hands are trembling. What……is she watching……? A scene that has gone off the rails? Not just
an illegitimate child, but a third party has appeared as well? Hey, this is──”

At that moment, Nia noticed something and opened her eyes to look towards the right. Mana and
Tatsuo also turned to look at that direction.

“──Ah.”
Then, they all noticed. They didn’t know how long she was standing there, but Haruko was
standing there with a furious look.

From her eyes, it was obvious that she had misunderstood something.

“H-H-Haru──”

“T-Takkun!”

Ignoring Tatsuo, Haruko ran away with tears in her eyes.

Running on the residential road, Haruko was filled with an exceptional regret.

Because of Mukuro’s persuasion, Haruko was intending on walking home to listen to Tatsuo’s
explanation. But then she accidentally encountered him.

Moreover, another woman who looked different from the illegitimate child (tentative name) was
on the side. Not only that, she seemed to have a very worried free face and a close relationship.
Her woman’s intuition told her that──she must be the mother of the illegitimate child (tentative
name).

“Waah────────! Takkun, you big idiot────────!”

With tears in her eyes, she was running down the street.

Although it was a lie to say that Haruko was completely unprepared, she didn’t expect to witness
that scene so suddenly. And, and, to think that the other party would be that sort of woman. She
wore loose and open sportswear and had a tired face like a manga artist that had barely passed a
deadline. This woman was the complete opposite from Haruko. Haruko’s heart was filled with
complicated feelings. If you get use to the same taste, was it man’s innate nature to occasionally
want to try something else? Ah, ah, damn it, if that was the case, he should have just told her and
she would have stayed up all night and wear worn-out sportswear──

──Just at that moment,

Haruko’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a very sharp car horn.

Then, Haruko understood. What situation she had gotten herself in.

Yes, she had run down the street; and at the moment she crossed the intersection, a high-speed
car appeared on the left.

“Watch out!”

“Haruko!”
“Ah──”

Almost subconsciously, Haruko briefly let out her voice.

What occurred suddenly froze her body and made it so that she couldn’t move. However, on the
contrary, her consciousness could still firmly grasp the situation in front of her.

It felt like time had stretched out for a hundred times over. So this was the so-called revolving
lantern phenomenon. Various scenes flashed through her mind and disappeared.

“──────”

At that moment, Haruko noticed. In those unbroken successive scenes, there was only Shidou,
Kotori, and Tatsuo.

──Nothing other than that. Undoubtedly, for something like this to happen, she must surely love
that person──

“Haru-chan────────!”

At that moment, accompanied by that scream, Haruko felt something trying to grab her.

No need to even think over who that person was──Tatsuo. Tatsuo had run up from behind,
shielding her in order to protect her.

But──it was too late. The car had arrived. At this moment in time, it would be impossible to
avoid it. Even if Haruko was saved, it would come at the cost of Tatsuo sacrificing himself.

Haruko, as her thoughts started to condense, arrived at a certain possibility.

Was this, what Tatsuo was intending to do?

“No, Takkun──”

At the moment when Haruko called out Tatsuo’s name──

The world stood still.

“Huh……?”

The sense of disobedience surrounding her body caused Haruko to blink a few times. This was
just like, Haruko, Tatsuo, and the galloping car, had all been lifted up by a giant pair of invisible
hands.

Haruko and Tatsuo’s bodies floated away from the car. After the car had passed, the two of them
gently fell back onto the ground.
“That just now was──”

“Ouch…….are you okay, Haru-chan……”

Haruko stared blankly as Tatsuo, who had somehow become her cushion, let out a groan.

“Ah…….um. Hey……”

Around this time, Haruko also noticed. In order to protect her, Tatsuo’s hand had perfectly
latched onto Haruko’s chest.

“……Even in moments like this, you’re still the same as ever, Takkun.”

“Ah……sorry, that wasn’t my intention……”

Tatsuo hurriedly released his hand. Haruko sighed and bitterly smiled.

“It’s okay. I know……thank you for saving me.”

After Haruko said that, she turned to look around.

“……Say, what happened just now? Is it possible that Takkun awakened a superpower during a
moment of crisis?”

“N-No, I didn’t do that. If I were to guess──this was the Voluntary Territory.”

Tatsuo said that while adjusting his glasses. Voluntary Territory, that is to say something like an
enchantment a Wizard unfolds through the Realizer Manifestation Device. Indeed, if it was the
Voluntary Territory, it would be possible to trigger what had just occurred.

“But, that Voluntary Territory, who──”

“──Really, you’re still as rash as ever, Haruko. Don’t cause too much trouble for Tatsuo-
sempai.”

Just at that moment.

A voice from above came to answer Haruko’s question.

Haruko looked up a little.

The girl that had appeared there, it was Tatsuo’s illegitimate child (tentative name).

“Huh──”
Haruko couldn’t help but hold her breath.

That posture, that look, that manner of speaking.

All of this was strikingly consistent with a girl in Haruko’s memory.

Of course, something like this couldn’t be happening. She had disappeared thirty years ago when
she was the same age as Haruko.

However, the girl standing in front of her now was ‘too much like her’ to the point where it
completely overthrew common sense. Haruko raised her head with a dumbstruck expression and
a trembling voice.

“Ma, na……?”

To that voice.

“──Yes, long time no see, Haruko.”

Takamiya Mana replied back with a smile that hadn’t changed at all from her memories.

“What! Is it was like this!? Takkun, you idiot! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier!”
“Um, well, I wanted to tell you……”

“Haha…..well, I’m just glad this misunderstanding is cleared up.”

The scene changed to the living room of the Itsuka household. Shidou wryly smiled upon hearing
the conversation between Haruko and Tatsuo.

It seemed like there was a small quarrel while Shidou and Kotori were searching for her, but it
seemed that everything had resolved by itself. Shidou and Kotori exchanged glances with each
other before letting out a collective sigh of relief.

“Anyway, I didn’t expect Mana to be taken by DEM and become a Wizard……are you okay?”

As Haruko worriedly asked, Mana exaggeratingly shrugged while on the opposite sofa.

“Ah, well, my body seems to have been modified, but it has also been cured now. More
importantly, my heart has become much happier now that the unpleasant CEO has been killed.”

“Hehe……that frank and refreshing side of yours hasn’t changed at all. It makes me feel
relieved.”

Haruko wiped the corners of her eyes while laughing.

Of course, it wasn’t difficult to sympathize with Haruko’s mood. This was talking to a good
friend whom she thought she would never see again. After having the memories of Shinji
restored during the final battle, this was also a scene that made him quite emotional.

Then, as if remembering something, Haruko clapped her hands and turned to look at Mukuro and
Nia who were sitting next to Mana. It seemed Mukuro and Haruko, and Nia and Tatsuo had run
into each by chance.

“I want to say hello again these new Spirits. ──My name is Itsuka Haruko. Thank you for
always taking care of Shii-kun and Koto-chan.”

“Fumu, it goes without speaking that Muku and the others are the ones being taken care of by
them.”

“Yes, yes, don’t worry about it. Say Itsuka mama, you said “that type of woman────!” Right?
What type of woman is that? It couldn’t be me? Right, isn’t that true?”

As Mukuro smiled, Nia also slanted her head with a smile. In response that, Haruko was
awkwardly sweating as she tried to look away.

“A-Anyway, Takkun was very handsome at that moment. That heroic appearance coming in to
rescue me from danger! I also want Shii-kun and Koto-chan to see how manly he was too!”
“Ahaha……in the end I couldn’t have done anything alone. It was thanks to Mana-chan’s help.”

“That’s not the problem. It’s very important that you came to my rescue……but what if you
messed up? If something happened to Takkun, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Haru-chan……”

“Takkun……”

The two of them looked at each other with glimmering eyes. It seemed that the bond between
them had grown stronger after going through this ordeal. Seeing their newlywed couple look,
Shidou couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“How to say this, it looks unimaginable that they were just arguing earlier.”

“Well, it would be impossible for dad to have an affair.”

As Kotori shrugged, Shidou also replied back with an affirmative nod.

──At that moment.

“──Oh.”

Suddenly, the living room door was opened. A voice was heard coming from the door.

Shidou thought it must have been one of the Spirits living in the mansion next door──but that
wasn’t it. What appeared there was a girl with lightly colored hair in a ponytail.

She was Maria, the AI of the airship <Fraxinus>. She had obtained a physical form through the
Realizer and power of the Angels.

“Ah, Maria. Welcome.”

“Yes, there seem to be rare guests, Shidou.”

Maria looked on at Haruko and Tatsuo in the living room with keen interest and then quietly
walked towards them.

Then, standing in front of Tatsuo, she displayed a soft smile.

“I’ve wanted to meet you for so long──dad.”

“Ah……!?”
As Maria said that, Haruko, who was smiling up until then, suddenly froze. Tatsuo also
inexplicably opened his mouth.

……No, certainly, Maria is an AI, it wasn’t that much of an issue to call Tatsuo and Haruko her
parents. However──”

“You couldn’t have picked a worse time, Maria────!”

Shidou screamed as he barely managed to hold back Haruko, who had burst into tears and was
trying to grab the door handle again.
Spirit Camping

There are many reasons for people to travel.

Some people travel to unknown locations to increase their knowledge or travel just for new
encounters. Some people travel for sightseeing, some school trips are planned by the school
curriculum, and others simply enjoy hiking.

Of course, there are also people that leave to escape their hometowns and people that elope
because of a love deemed unacceptable. Or perhaps──

“──Dar──────ling──────! Kotori-san──────! I found something incredibly

disastrous! …Huh? DEM? N-No, nothing like that. I am going to graduate this month, but
because everything got so busy lately, I failed to go on the graduation trip! Waah──! This is too
much────! My desires are going to be unsated at this rate! H-Haah……p-please run of it,
Darling, Kotori-san……! I feel that you two are suddenly looking delicious……ooooooooooh!”

……The popular idol that burst into their house suddenly said this and attacked the two of them
at the same time. So the possibility of being caught in a scenario of having to make travel plans
wasn’t completely non-existent.

In this manner, it turned into a graduation trip for all the Spirits.

“Hmm────”

Sunshine passed through the small openings left by the tree leaves and landed on the ground.
While listening to the sound of flowing water, Shidou stretched his body.

Surrounded by dense trees, the river was flowing slowly. The sound of insects and songbirds
chirping could also be occasionally heard. Although this wasn’t completely natural scenery
devoid of all artificial means, for people that had come from the big city, the immersion here felt
just right.

It may be because it was off-season now, or perhaps this location wasn’t too popular. But there
were no other people here besides Shidou and his group. As if to let his entire body feel this open
atmosphere, Shidou stood up once again.

“It’s not bad to come here occasionally.”

“Right. Even if the cause of this is a bit um……well it’s nice to be able to freely enjoy this.”

As Shidou said that, his little sister Kotori stood next to him, shaking her twintails as she was
nodding. She was dressed up in a refreshing T-shirt above culottes, with her favorite lollipop in
her mouth.
That’s right. Shidou and the others were currently at a campsite by a river, which was about a
two hour drive from their house.

Of course, the Spirits were certainly also involved in Shidou and Kotori’s trip. Towards the river,
Tohka and Yoshino, after putting on their swimsuits, were happily playing in the water.

It was March now. Even though the season was already spring, it was still a little too early to
descend into the river.

However, very much inconceivably, after deciding to travel the temperature began to rise and the
sun now gave the feeling of early summer.

It was as if a God in control of this world was considering camping and abnormally changed the
weather to suit everyone’s needs. Shidou wondered for a split second if it was truly something
like that, but Kotori didn’t to know anything. He supposed inconceivable things would stay just
like that.

“Hey! Shidou! Kotori! Aren’t you guys coming to play?”

“It’s very cool and comfortable.”

After saying that, Tohka and the others vigorously beckoned to Shidou’s direction. “Oh, I’ll head
over soon.” Shidou waved back in response and looked around to confirm everyone else.

Origami, Natsumi, Mukuro, Tohka, and Yoshino were all playing together. Kaguya and Yuzuru
were looking for flat stones by the river. It seemed like they were preparing for a competition
skipping stones. On the bank of the river, Kurumi was smiling while looking on at everyone else.
Meanwhile, Nia opened an early can of beer.

“……Uh, that being said, where is the leading actor responsible for this trip, Miku──”

“──Kiyaaah──────!”

Just as Shidou’s voice fell, there was a loud scream coming from the river side.

Without even needing to think this over, this was Miku’s voice. Miku, who was wearing a
swimsuit just like everyone else, looked on at everyone with gleaming eyes.

“Innocent angels playing by the clear stream……wow! Ah, ah, is this really the real world!?
Could it be that I was sent to heaven by a truck when I wasn’t paying attention!? Hehe,
hehe……I can’t stand it anymore! Miku-san, departing out!”

Miku cried out as she dived into the river. Then, as the water splashed, Miku gradually pressing
forward Tohka and the others.

“What! What’s up with that speed!?”

“Guh……those aren’t human movements at all……!”

“Kiya──────!”

The Spirits dispersed like tiny spiders. Among them, Natsumi didn’t have enough time to escape
and was captured by Miku. It looked just like a poor deer being attacked by a crocodile as it was
out drinking water.

Looking on at this scene, Kotori sighed.

“Great. It seems that she hasn’t calm down in the slightest.”

“Yeah.”

Shidou replied after nodding slightly.

However, after a few seconds.

“……Huh?”

Shidou slanted his head. A sudden sense of disobedience had struck him. It felt as his senses had
become paralyzed.

Well, despite this, there was no doubt this was a cheerful occasion. Shidou looked on at the
crowd again before letting out a long sigh of relief.

“Graduation trip……time flies by so quickly. We’ve already arrived around that time.”

“Ah, what’s the matter, being so gloomy so suddenly? It’s not like you’re the one who
graduated.”

After Shidou said those words that were filled with deep emotion, Kotori gave him a somewhat
amused and surprised look.

“Yeah, but how to describe it……a lot has happened this year. Being able to go out and camp
with everyone feels like a dream.”

“Hehe……well, maybe it is.”

Kotori didn’t reply with a joke this time, narrowing her eyes and shrugging slightly.

But that was also an understandable act. After all, until last month, Shidou and the others fought
a battle with their lives on the line.
Despite the hardship, Shidou and the others still won. The present peaceful life was based on
great sacrifices and losses. Thinking of like that, it made this peaceful time feel even more
precious.

Shidou’s thoughts seemed to have been passed on to Kotori. Kotori smiled as she stood up.

“──Then, we must create good memories.”

While saying that, Kotori slowly took off her t-shirt.

“! Hey, Kotori──”

“What are you worried about? I’m wearing a bathing suit inside.”

As Shidou wanted to reflexively look away, Kotori stretched out her hand while revealing a
teasing smile.

“Alright, you come too, Shidou.”

“……Oh.”

Obviously, he should have known that Kotori was wearing a swimsuit underneath her clothes.
But Shidou was still looking away for some reason. Shidou, who felt a little ashamed about this
incident, grabbed Kotori’s hand and moved towards the river where everyone else was at.

He didn’t know how long they had been playing. After pulling Natsumi away from being
confronted by Miku, everyone was playing in the water (well, what had occurred just a few
moments ago was similar to a horror movie scene). The Yamai sisters organized a round of
skipping stones (ending up with a battle between Tohka’s power and Origami’s skill). Kurumi
and Nia enjoyed fishing together (incidentally, Nia was already drunk at that time and fell asleep
after eating the fish).
After returning to the place beside the river where he had left his luggage, Shidou checked the
time with his mobile phone and then stood up and straighten his back with his hands against his
hips.

“Now then……it’s almost about time to prepare for dinner.”

“Ooh, dinner!? What’s on the menu today!?”

Right as she heard the word dinner, Tohka asked with glimmering eyes. Shidou replied back
while pointing to the direction of the car.

“Since it’s a rare opportunity to come out camping, why don’t we have barbeque? The charcoal
and grill have been prepared, so we can season the fish we just caught with salt.”

“What!? We can eat the fish that was just caught!?”

The light in Tohka’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as she leaned forward. Then, while closely
nuzzling up to Tohka, Miku pouted in dissatisfaction.

“Ehh, it’s still too early. I still want to play with Darling for a while.”

“Although there is still a lot to play, not starting the work in the kitchen now would mean
preparing too late. You don’t want to miss dinner, do you?”

“When you put it like that……”

While speaking, Miku coquettishly teased Tohka’s neck. Tohka twisted her body as if tickled.

“Besides, the tent isn’t set up, right? That needs to be done before it gets dark.”

After Shidou finished speaking, Kotori, who came ashore from the river, nodded in agreement.

“Right. Many people are setting up tents for the first time, so it’s better to start early. More
recent tents are convenient to set up, but that’s only when compared to their predecessors.”

“I’m very skilled at this.”

“……Aah, um, as expected of Origami.”

Kotor bitterly smiled as Origami gave a thumbs up. Origami was a Wizard from the Japanese
Self-Defense Force AST. It wasn’t surprising that she would have received such training.

Despite having said that, with the number of people here, it would be still very difficult to set up
a tent large enough for everyone to sleep. Shidou nodded as this decision was made.
“Then I’ll go prepare dinner, so please set up the tent everyone.”

“Huh? But to do that alone……”

Kotori said as she raised her brow. Shidou smiled as he brushed away that concern.

“It’s fine. I’m used to building a grill and burner for ignition.”

“Uh……well, maybe that’s right.”

As Kotori whispered with her arms crossed, Miku raised her head as if thinking up something.

“Yes! The preparations for dinner are left to Darling and we are responsible for setting up the
tent! Yup! Come along everyone!”

After saying that in a matter of fact manner, she reached out to grab everyone’s hands.

“Ah, wait a minute……”

Kotori felt something a little troubling, but she couldn’t keep up with Miku’s momentum and
was helplessly pulled away.

“…..? What’s up with Miku?”

Shidou, who was now left alone by the riverside, slanted his head over Miku’s sudden change in
attitude. She looked dissatisfied mere moments ago, so what lead to the sudden shift in mood?

Despite thinking that over, there was no more time left for these thoughts. Shidou walked over to
the car to begin preparing the barbeque.

“Mnn…..there should be problems here.”

While grabbing onto Tohka and Kotori’s hands, Miku, who brought the Spirits over to a leveled
portion of the ground, smiled after arriving at a location where Shidou could no longer see them.

The Spirits looked on in surprise at Miku.

“No problem……are there really not any problems?”

“We need to set up the tent, right……? Then we should head to the car to first bring the things
over……”

Natsumi and Yoshino tilted their heads as they spoke out in turn. But as Miku’s smile deepened,
she raised her index finger.
“Actually, I have a proposal……”

“……?”

The Spirits looked at each other in dismay. Seeing everyone like this, Miku explained her
proposal.

Then, after some time had passed──

“──Itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu!”

As if responding to Shidou’s command, the Spirits gathered around the grill and pressed their
hands together.

“Alright, then let’s start grilling. Because charcoal fire is fierce, be careful not to burn it.”

Shidou continuously used the tongs in his hand to put down the bite-sized pieces of vegetables
and meat, as well as hastily arranging the star ingredient, fresh fish, on top of a rack.
Accompanied by that sizzling sound, the smoke rose as the smell of barbeque diffused around.

“Ooh……it tastes so delicious!”

“Haha, isn’t it? This is the advantage of charcoal fire.”

Tohka’s eyes shinned as her nose twitched. Seeing this amusing look, Shidou couldn’t help but
smile.

Although it took a bit longer than originally planned, fortunately thanks to the assistance of
Tohka, Yuzuru, Kurumi and Yoshino, the preparation of the ingredients was successfully
completed.

It was now around 7:00 PM. Even though the time period had just transitioned into evening, their
surroundings were already as dark as late night.

If it wasn’t for the campfire Shidou had just started and their high-powered electrical light, they
likely wouldn’t be able to see each other faces even when standing next to each other.

However, living off this sort of unreliable environment every now and then also served as a
seasoning to embellish their marvelous lives. There were no walls, a dining table without any
floors or ceilings. With only a simple folding chair, the smell of charcoal pervaded the
surroundings. This type of mix and match without daily life elements made this place feel like a
slightly different world from the distant past.

After a while, the ingredients on the grill were cooked. As soon as Shidou said, “Okay, now it
should be almost done”, the Spirits eagerly moved their disposable chopsticks.

“Yum! It’s delicious, Shidou!”

“Ho, could this be……the power of hellfire itself? What fondness I have for this. It ought to be
appreciated more.”

“Admiration. It is very delicious. Perhaps it has something to do with this location.”

The Spirits tasted the meat and vegetables with great delight. Shidou smiled as he placed
additional ingredients onto the rack.

“Certainly, eating out in the wilderness will make it taste incredible.”

“Mun. Could it be perhaps due to eating dinner together with everyone?”

“Aah, that may also be the reason.”

As Mukuro said while munching on the bite-size pieces of vegetables, Shidou nodded and
replied back to her.

“……Hm?”

At that moment, Shidou slightly frowned. He found as everyone was eating, there were two
Spirits that hadn’t moved their chopsticks at all.

One of them was Nia, who was dozing off and taking a nap after a can of beer.

The other one was Natsumi, who was sitting on the folding chair in an extremely exhausted
manner. Incidentally, both her clothes and skin was dirty for some reason.

Although Nia was nothing unusual, Natsumi’s appearance would make someone feel uneasy.
Shidou took a step closer to get a better glimpse at her face.

“Natsumi, are you okay?”

“……Huh? Ah, it’s nothing……I’m just a little tired……”

As Shidou asked that, Natsumi shook her shoulders and raised her face.

“Aah……well you did have to the unaccustomed work of setting up a tent after playing so much
in the river. It must have been exhausting work for you.”
“……No, the tent is……”

“Huh?”

After hearing Natsumi half-whisper that, Shidou slanted his head. Then, Natsumi suddenly
hushed up.

“──Shidou.”

At that moment, a voice called out to him from behind. Shidou turned around to see Origami
standing there.

“Can the ingredients here also be grilled?”

“Hmm? Aah, of course they can.”

Shidou replied like that as he walked around the grill.

Along the way, he seemed to feel that Origami and Natsumi had made eye contact with each
other……well, it must have been just his imagination.

“Come, the night has just begun. I have prepared yakitori and grilled rice balls. And with these
iron plates, isn’t stir-fried soba noodles also an option?”

“Wha……! We can have even something like that!?”

“Ara, ara. Be careful not to eat too much now.”

“Meow……yakitori……!? Nia likes yakitori the most……”

After hearing what Shidou had said, the Spirits grew more excited. Nia, who was still napping
her chair, also nodded with a beer can in hand.

Looking on at this, Shidou bitterly smiled as he placed the next batch of ingredients on the grill.
A different fragrance spread around, deeply stimulating the appetites of the Spirits that had
already eaten.

In this manner, the first day of this graduation camping trip reached very late into the night.

After everyone had their fill of the barbeque, they either talked around the bonfire or look up at
the night scenery of stars that could only be enjoy in the outdoors.

Even though the darkness of the night would bring about an instinctual fear, having just a small
source of light does wonders in bringing people together. Even though Shidou didn’t plan for the
graduation trip to be camping out like this, the peaceful immersion spending time in this
darkness made Shidou realize once again that this was a great place for a travel location.

“──Phew……”

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Mukuro began to yawn a little.

“Haha, we sure did do a lot today, so it’ll be normal to be tired.”

“Mun……no such matter. Muku is still wide awake.”

Despite Mukuro saying that, she still rubbed her weary eyes.

Shidou took out his mobile phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was now 10:00
PM. It was only natural for Mukuro, who usually goes to bed early and wakes up early, to be
sleepy around this time. Shidou got up from his chair and stretched slightly.
“Then, I’m going to sleep. I’m also a little sleepy. ──You’ve set up the tent in the open area,
right?”

──Right then.

“……!”

The moment Shidou said that, a sense of immersion spread out among the Spirits. Even Mukuro,
who was sleepy just the moment before, suddenly had an expression of being wide awake.

“Huh? Did I say something strange?”

Just as Shidou was puzzled over this sudden change in mood, the Spirits all got up and divided
themselves into two groups.

“W-What’s wrong……?”

Confused, Shidou frowned suspiciously. Then, Miku stood up with a smile.

“──Ufufu. Just as Darling was preparing dinner for us, we played a game for a bit.”

“Game?”

As Shidou asked, Miku replied back with a “that’s right” before continuing on.

“If everyone sleeps in a tent, there won’t be enough space. Therefore, we decided to use
Amidakuji to split into pairs, with each team building ‘the strongest sleeping place that comes to
mind’.”

“Hey……”

Unexpectedly, they even did this sort of thing while Shidou was preparing the ingredients.
Shidou rounded his eyes and stroked his chin.

That being said, there was no way for everyone to sleep in a single tent. Naturally, multiple beds
were needed. Then a team competition may also be an interesting attempt.

“So next, each group will introduce their sleeping quarters in turn and let Darling choose which
one he thinks is best.”

“Aah, so that’s it. It was something like this.”

After listening to Miku’s explanation, Shidou nodded.

However──
“And then tonight Darling will have to sleep with the corresponding group that he has chosen.”

“……Ha?”

Shidou’s body froze the moment he heard Miku say those words.

“……Um, what did you say just now?”

“So, I would like Darling to stay overnight at the place you think is the best.”

Miku tossed a wink as she said that. It seemed that Shidou didn’t hear her wrong. He quickly
shook his sweaty head.

“No, no, no! Isn’t that very strange!? If you’re building multiple tents, wouldn’t you normally
just leave one aside for men only!?”

“Eh, that would be boring……and our slender hands have done their best just to prepare the
sleeping quarters for this many people. Woo.”

“No, didn’t your original intention leak out just now!? Anyway, this won’t do. This isn’t an
option──”

At that moment, Shidou suddenly stopped talking.

They stared on at Shidou with those eyes.

“Ugh……”

It was troubling being look at like that. After worrying over this for a few seconds, Shidou let out
a deep sigh.

“……Anyway, let’s take a look first.”

“……!”

As soon as Shidou said that, the Spirits suddenly perked up──and at the next moment, the
flames of conflict were reignited in their eyes.

“Um……First up is Tohka and Yuzuru’s group?”

“Umu!”
“Consent. Please give us lots of comments, Shidou.”

After Shidou finished speaking, Tohka and Yuzuru both exaggeratingly nodded, walking over to
the direction of the open space as if to guide him. Shidou followed them as he moved forward in
the dusky nighttime road.

Soon after, Tohka and Yuzuru stopped and turned on the lights. At this moment, the open space
surrounded by darkness was instantly illuminated, revealing the entire picture of the tent that was
built.

“Ooh──”

Looking on at such a scene, Shidou couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

There were tightly tied ropes that were attached to stakes that were firmly driven onto the
ground. The bright yellow tent was so beautifully built that it didn’t look done by a novice at all.

“Hey, isn’t this great. This tent is firmly held. This technique is much greater than mine.”

As soon as Shidou gave his honest praise, Yuzuru smugly hummed from her nose.

“Naturally. For Yuzuru who defeated Kaguya in the outdoor survival duel, this construction is
nothing. Tohka also quickly picked up on the building steps and contributed a lot.”

“Umu! I didn’t expect the bed to be settled so quickly. The tent is really awesome! But that’s not
all. Go inside as well!”

Tohka patted her chest as she said that. Shidou slightly nodded and knelt down to climb into the
tent.

“Oh, this is……”

Shidou immediately noticed as he entered. The interior of the tent was tightly insulated with
another layer. Even though it was warm during the day, the temperature may drop during night.
Shidou could help but feel grateful by such thoughtful consideration.

“I see, so even the inside is very reliable. This is really good.”

“……? What are you talking about? Please look at the pillow side of the sleeping bag.”

“Huh?”

It seemed that Tohka still had highlights that she wanted Shidou to see. Shidou followed Tohka’s
instructions and looked at the pillow next to the sleeping bag. The place had an unnaturally large
pile swelled up as it was covered by cloth.
Shidou raised his brow in suspicion as he lifted up the cloth. What caught his eye there was the
large amount snacks like a great amount of chocolate.

“T-This is……”

“Umu! It’s a midnight snack!”

As Shidou asked, Tohka clutched her arms together and loudly replied.

“……Fufu, how about it Shidou? If you choose our tent, even if you get hungry at night, won’t it
be okay?”

Tohka lowered her voice as she had a somewhat sordid look on her face. It seemed that Tohka
also realized that she was attempting something foul. He could see the excitement and hint of
guilt on her expression, as well as the secret pleasure of trying to seduce Shidou with material
goods.

“Haha……I see. That is pretty good.”

Shidou smiled bitterly with a hint of shame. Well, he was still full from the barbeque after all. To
be honestly, it was difficult to imagine his stomach being hungry again so quickly.

“──Stop. You don’t think it’ll be just this, do you?”

However, it didn’t seem over yet. Just as Shidou was about to leave the tent, Yuzuru blocked his
way.

“Huh?”

“Criticize. This is a tent, a place for sleeping. So don’t you think the most important thing would
be the feeling of lying down?”

“Well, that’s true……”

As Shidou replied back, Yuzuru and Tohka gestured to each other with their eyes and left the
tent. Then, followed by the sound of clothes changing, the two of them entered the tent again.

──They were wearing furry pajamas with ears attached to the hood.

“Wha……!?”

When did they have time to prepare such lovely pajamas? Although the degree of exposure
wasn’t high, the looming fingertips over the sleeves and thighs protruding from the hem of the
skirt caused Shidou’s heartbeat to skip faster.
“How about it Shidou! Furry pajamas!”

“Temptation. If Shidou falls asleep between Yuzuru and Tohka, he will surely have a good
dream.”

“No, between you two would──”

Shidou’s brows twitched as he took a step back from being overwhelmed by the momentum of
these two. He then noticed three warm sleeping bags lined up in the tent.

“Uh……”

Originally, he didn’t want to think about it for as much as possible. But now thinking over
carefully, choosing this tent meant staying the night here. Although there was a sleeping bag
here, being in a state so close to Tohka and Yuzuru would be──

“…...”

As Shidou thought this over, his face suddenly grew hotter for some reason. Shidou shook his
head to shake off the delusion in his head and left the tent.

“──Come on, it’s our team’s tent next.”

“Mun. Then, Nushi-sama, please proceed here.”

The following words came from Kotori and Mukuro. They proceeded to their open area with
confident looks before stopping shortly afterwards.

Then, as soon as Kotori manipulated her phone, the illuminated lights installed were dazzlingly
clicked and brightened up the surroundings.

“Wow……!?”

Shidou’s eyes couldn’t help but flinch when faced with brightness incomparable to ordinary
electrical light. But that wasn’t the only surprising point──at the center of that light was a
towering tent that was five times larger than the previous one.

“W-What is this……”

Seeing this overwhelming prestige, Shidou was left stunned.

The loose outline shaped by the white cloth was reminiscent of a nomadic yurt or huge circus
tent. The entrance was also very spacious to the point where he could guess what was inside
before even entering. Three large beds were radially arranged around a small stove placed in the
center. It was just like a guest room in a luxury hotel. This felt like something more used in the
so-called glamping than anything else.

As Shidou was left in a daze, Kotori suddenly smiled and lifted up her hair.

“How is it? The design concept is evening in Bali. In order to have an elegant evening, we tried
to create an exotic atmosphere.”

“Mun. Not only that, please come in and see Nushi-sama.”

Mukuro grabbed Shidou’s hand with a look of excitement. Shidou, who was left in a daze,
walked into the tent without any response.

“Now, if you will, imotogo-san.”

“Okay.”

Kotori responded to Mukuro’s request and operated her phone.

Then, accompanied by a buzzling electrical sound from somewhere, part of the tent’s ceiling
opened as gleaming stars appeared in front of everyone.

“How is it? It is possible to gradually fall asleep while looking at the stars. This was all arranged
by Muku begging imotogo-san to help arrange it.”

“A-Aah……this is amazing……”

As Shidou said that in a low voice, Kotori grinned as if confident of their victory.

“Right? Embedding these structures is very hard.”

“Uh……I have a question……”

“? What?”

“Was this tent really built just by the two of you?”

“……Isn’t it of course?”

As Shidou asked that, Kotori deliberately looked away and gave that reply. It was obvious that
she had consulted with foreigners for this.

“……Is that true, Mukuro?”

“Mun……o-of course. Imotogo would never make a call for assistance……”

“──! Mukuro!”

Kotori covered Mukuro’s mouth in a panic. ……While this ought to be taken for as given at this
point, it seemed she did ask for assistance.

Although it was impossible to evaluate it with the same benchmark as Tohka and Yuzuru’s tent,
the rules had said that borrowing assistance for others wasn’t allowed. Shidou carefully thought
that over as he walked over to the next tent.

“Hmm, the next one is……”

“Ufufu, it’s our turn next.”

“Please give us much advice……!”

“Shidou-kun will surely be captivated?”

After Shidou left Kotori and Mukuro’s tent, what awaited him next were Kurumi and Yoshino,
the latter of whom had rabbit puppet Yoshinon on her left hand. This was another rare
combination.

“Over here.”

In this manner, Shidou was taken to place near the junction between the open land and the forest.
The electrical lights were already turned on and illuminated the surroundings. Tables and chairs
were placed underneath a wide tarp, creating very elegant space. Although the layout of the table
was fairly simple, there was still a tea set present. Also, each chair was equipped with either a cat
or rabbit-shaped cushion.

“Oh, this is great……but where is the place to sleep?”

Shidou looked around and slanted his head. That’s right. It was a wonderful space, but all he
could see were chairs and tables, not any tents or sleeping bags.

“Ah, about that──”

As if to answer Shidou’s question, Kurumi picked up the electrical light and shone it next to the
tarp.
Then, Shidou saw two objects resembling black cloth tied between the trees growing there.

“Is that……a hammock?”

Yes, that was undoubtedly a hammock. And rather than being the net version for taking a nap, it
was the type that wrapped around the entire body like a sleeping bag.

“Yes, yes. Although it looks unreliable at first glance, fortunately sleeping off the floor is
warmer than being in a tent.”

“I tried lying down and it felt very comfortable.”

“Yes, Yoshinon also slept soundly in this.”

“Hey……”

Shidou spoke while trying to open the hammock that had been converted into a sleeping bag. As
it turns out, the texture was unexpectedly firm to touch and the feeling of lying down there felt
far better than expected.

“This is very interesting. Indeed it’s a feeling that can only be felt while camping. But……”

“……? What’s wrong?”

After hearing Shidou say that, Yoshino blinked. Shidou scratched his face while continuing on.

“No, I was wondering why there are only two hammocks. Even if I choose here, I can’t sleep
together with you……”

“──Ufufu.”

Shidou’s words came to halt halfway through, because at that moment Kurumi smiled and
wrapped her hand around Shidou’s shoulder.

“Because we are not skilled enough, we could only provide two hammocks. Therefore, if
Shidou-san chooses this place, you will have to share a hammock with either me or Yoshino-
san……”

“……Ha, ha!?”

Shidou couldn’t help but let out a strange cry. However, Kurumi didn’t care as she whispered to
call out Yoshino.

“Come, be together with Yoshino-chan.”

“Y-Yes……!”
Yoshino, who looked very nervous, placed her hand on Shidou’s other shoulder.

“──Fu.”

The pair breathed into Shidou’ ears at the same time.

“……!?”

The sudden stimulation caused Shidou to roll his eyes back as he stumbled for his next
destination.

“──Fu, so you’ve finally arrived Shidou. You’ve kept us waiting.”

“The finale role is here!”

Next to greet Shidou was the Kaguya and Miku pair. The two of them smiled fearlessly as they
assumed a figure skating duo pose.

“……? What’s wrong, Darling?”

She likely noticed how Shidou’s face was still flushed while he was covering his ears. As Miku
looked confused, Shidou hurriedly shook his head.

“……! N-No, it’s nothing. Compared to that, how about your tent? I don’t see anything……”

As Shidou said that, Kaguya and Miku smiled and changed to another pose.

“Fufuu, then I’ll leave it to you, Kaguya-san.”

“Understood.”

Kaguya, who had accepted Miku’s request, turned around.

In this manner, Kaguya, who had assumed a new pose, raised her hand to the sky and snapped
her finger.

“Appear from the darkness! Camping────────!”

In that instant, a ray of light appeared behind Kaguya. Accompanied by a muffled sound,
something huge was approaching. This was──
“A-A recreational vehicle!?”

A huge car with a truck-like appearance had appeared.

A recreational vehicle, or RV, was quite literally a car used for camping. Kaguya and Miku
seemed satisfied with Shidou’s reaction and opened the door respectfully as if to introduce the
inside of the car.

“O-Ooh.”

There were tables and simple beds in a car-like container. There was even a TV and refrigerator.
Of course, the sleeping bunk was impeccable.

“Kuku, how about it? The perfect living environment, wouldn’t you choose our team?”

“Fufu, if you chose now we’ll even give you the right to use the bed on the driver’s seat.”

“What……is there even a bed there──wait, does this even count!? Wasn’t this supposed to be a
tent competition!?”

As Shidou couldn’t help but yell, the two of them embarrassingly shrugged.

“No, did we ever say that it had to be tent?”

“Right. Moreover, isn’t this called an RV……? I don’t understand what you are talking about.
This is a monster summoned from the barrier constructed by mine and Miku’s blood pact.”

“No, no, no, obviously it would be difficult to set up in this setting! By the way, was that Miku’s
agent I just saw sitting in the driver’s seat before!?”

After Shidou yelled again, Kaguya and Miku feigned being naïve by shrugging once more.

So it turns out it was probably because of this hidden tactic that Miku purposed such a game. In
fact, despite considering it devious, Shidou had to admit it was still a little tempting……boys no
matter how old they were would always have no resistance against mechanical vehicles.

“Really……”

Now that something like this had occurred, nothing afterwards could be surprising. Shidou
walked to the direction of the last team with a helpless smile.

……But that expectation was broken within a few minutes.

“…………Um, Origami, Natsumi, what is this?”

Arriving at the last team, Shidou couldn’t help but feel a heart-piercing sound at the sight of
Origami and Natsumi’s bed.

But that was completely par the norm. After all, what Shidou saw was neither a tent nor a car,
but rather a home.

Home. Right. A home. There were no other words to describe this. Using the trees that originally
grew there, it had walls and even a roof. Generally, speaking this wasn’t something that could be
built in two or three hours. Shidou wondered for a moment if this was connected to Natsumi’s
<Haniel>.

However, that wasn’t the case. The cut down vines and surrounding trees and the tempered clay
walls denied the presence of any extraordinary intervention. More importantly, the atmosphere
reflected the craftsmen spirit of the two.

Perhaps noticing that Shidou was now trembling, Origami and Natsumi silently nodded.

“We worked hard.”

“…………I thought I was going to die.”

“It was a great effort finish exceeding expectations.”

The words of those two caused Shidou to scream.

“No, how did you come up with such a thing!? Are you pioneers!? This isn’t at the level of
sleeping for just one night!? Why did the two of you go this far!?”

As Shidou chaotically yelled, Origami blushed and Natsumi indifferently laughed.

“Thinking about if I could maybe sleep with Shidou.”

“……I, well, was only following the trend……”

“Your talents should be used elsewhere!”

Shidou straightened his back as his screams echoed under the night sky.

◇
……After reviewing the five groups that set up tents (well some of them couldn’t be called
tents), Shidou and the Spirits all returned to the central area at the same time.

It may all just be his mind playing tricks on him. Shidou felt that his throat felt sore…….but it
couldn’t be helped. He was basically screaming no-stop for the second half.

“──Now, you have seen them all.”

Kotori said while crossing her hands together. Although her tone was as calm as usual, the
lollipop in her mouth was swaying slightly.

“A-Aah……”

After Shidou replied with sweat dripping down his face, some of the Spirits either had confident
or nervous looks on their faces.

“Kuku, then choose. Which one does Shidou want to live in the most!”

“Ufufu, of course it’s the hammock between me and Yoshino-san, right?”

“Shidou, now the choices are not only snacks, but also juice as well…..?”

Like this, everyone put forward their conditions and awaited the results of Shidou’s decision.
Shidou gulped as he pursed his lips in a worried manner.

──At that moment.

“──Hold on──────! Why am I the only one being excluded!?”

As if to break everyone’s tension, a voice rang from somewhere.

“What……t-this voice is!?”

“Where’s it coming from……!?”

“────! Look, over there!”

Yoshino pointed to behind Shidou. Everyone’s eyes turned to that direction.

Over there was──

“…………What are you doing, Nia?”

Nia was in her sleeping bag, lying in the middle of the floor just like a caterpillar.
“No……I didn’t even know everyone was setting up tents. Leaving me aside as the only one
without a place to sleep……that’s too crafty. Openly pushing me out! Specifically excluding me
from any team……”

Nia tried to get up as she let out hilarious cry. However, because both her hands were still in the
sleeping bag, she failed to maintain her balance and soon fell onto the ground again.

In response to this, Kotori sighed.

“……We asked you when we were dividing up into teams, but you fell asleep drunk.”

“Eh, really? Ahaha……I didn’t notice at all.”

Nia interrupted with a smile as she tried to stand up again. But sure enough, it was difficult for
her to maintain her posture. She fell onto the ground again and rolled away……disappearing into
the darkness.

“Waaah──────! Someone please stop me──────”

After a pause, there was a sound of a grunt before it turned silent. Shidou smiled bitterly as he
looked on at everyone.

“……Um, can one of you guys take her in?”

Everyone helplessly nodded.

“Well, one thing at a time. Shidou, can you tell us the results of your decision?”

“A-Aah, that’s right.”

Shidou coughed a little to regroup his thoughts, looking on at everyone again as he started
thinking.

In the beginning, Shidou only planned on looking at everyone’s tents. But seeing how everyone’s
efforts exceeded his imagination, he couldn’t just leave it at that anymore. Avoiding making an
evaluation would mean being too disrespectful to everyone’s efforts.

That being said, Shidou also couldn’t just outright choose the one he liked the best.

First up was Kurumi and Yoshino’s hammock. That one was ruled out. Sleeping in one place is
inherently problematic and he didn’t know what would happen from sharing a bed.

Similarly, the Tohka and Yuzuru team also couldn’t be selected. Although it had the impression
of a tent that was seriously done, it would be very detrimental being caught in a narrow space
between those two wearing those outfits.
The RV from the Kaguya and Miku group and house from the Natsumi and Origami group both
had enough space. But the people present made him feel uneasy. Leaving Kaguya and Natsumi
aside, he had no idea what Miku and Origami would do at night.

Like this, the only real option was the Kotori and Mukuro group. The space between the beds
was sufficient. And more importantly, Kotori was his younger sister and Mukuro was a part of
his family. It wasn’t a problem to sleep at the same place. Shidou raised his head as he made his
decision.

“Where I want to sleep is──”

But, at the very moment Shidou was about to give his decision.

“────Ugh!?”

Suddenly, the ground roared as the place where Shidou and the others were at shook violently.

“What……!

“E-Earthquake……!?”

“Everyone, calm down! There’s nothing nearby that will fall! Lower your posture and wait for
the vibrations to stop!”

Kotori gave her instructions to the distressed crowd. Everyone followed the instructions and
squatted down.

Finally, the earthquake subsided as the night return to a calm state again. Shidou tremblingly
stood up and looked around for everyone.

“I-Is everyone okay?”

“Y-Yes, we’re alright.”

“That gave me a fright…...”

Everyone helped each other up while chattering about.

At that moment, Yuzuru frowned as if she had noticed something.

“Shiver. Is Nia okay?”

“Ah──”
As Yuzuru said that, Shidou widened his eyes. Speaking of which, Nia had just rolled away in
her sleeping bag beforehand. She had probably shifted to the river because of the earthquake just
now.

“Hey, Nia!? Where are you!? Reply if you can hear me!”

Shidou placed his hands near his mouth as he shouted.

After a while, a reply came from the distance.

“──Hey──over here──save me────”

There was no doubt about it. That was Nia’s voice. Shidou and the others looked at each other
and grabbed their flashlights to head to that direction.

But then──

“…………Huh?”

After arriving nearby, without stopping, Shidou’s face was marked by confusion.

But it couldn’t be helped. The Spirits who ran alongside Shidou also all had the same look.

After all, a huge tent stood in front of everyone’s eyes.

……No, Shidou couldn’t immediately tell if this was a tent or not. While some elements of it
were clearly a tent, the other half could be regarded as a big car or house.

That’s right. It was impossible to believe──the tents, house, and camping vehicle set up by the
Spirits had all integrated together. Incidentally, Nia’s sleeping bag was hanging on the roof just
like bag moth worm.

“T-This is……everyone’s tent?”

“Because of the earthquake just now……?”

“No way! Impossible! If it was broken down perhaps, but how could it be coincidentally put
together like building blocks──”

“……But, it’s actually like that……”

“…………”

Faced with Natsumi’s remark, Kotori could only remain silent.

That being said, Shidou could also understand Kotori’s mood. Such a thing would be impossible
normally. There was a complete sense of balance as everyone’s tents were mixed together.

And, unbelievably the framework of the tent hadn’t collapsed at all. The interior was also
beautifully integrated with beds lined up in sideways.

This was a miraculous phenomenon that would be unbelievable unless seen in person. It was as
if a God that could freely manipulate this world really existed and said, “If you want to choose a
tent, might as well sleep together.”

“Fu……”

As the Spirits widened their eyes in surprise, Tohka alone let out her voice and entered the tent.
After that, she touched her surroundings to confirm the condition of the tent After nodding, she
got into the sleeping bag near the middle.

“Wait……Tohka, this is dangerous! Come back!”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t look like it’s going to collapse. Moreover, everyone’s tents are put together,
so we can only sleep here.”

“N-No, so you’re saying……”

Kotori frowned while looking troubled. But, Tohka didn’t care as she patted the sleeping bag
next to her.

“Come in too Shidou. The special seat is here!”

“Huh? A-Aah──”

For some reason, after Tohka said that, Shidou had the strange impression that there wouldn’t be
any issues. So he entered the tent and stood beside Tohka.

When the other Spirits saw this, they followed Shidou into the tent.

“I can’t ignore this. Shidou must be by my side.”

“Ara, ara. The tent has become one. Then, it must be decided by another method, correct?”

“No, it could be dangerous──ah forget it……! All members gather! The sleeping positions will
be decided through a finger guessing game!”

“Kya! The result is too good! Even though it’s not clear how, everyone sleeping together is the
best! Thank you Buddha-sama, Darling-sama────!”

Just like this, a commotion started inside the tent.

Incidentally, outside of the tent, “……Hey, guys? Did you forget about me?” The rescue of this
whispering bag moth worm was done after the sleeping position had been decided.

After turning off the lantern, the only light that remained in the dark forest was the light of the
moon and stars.

Although a guessing game had been used to determine the positions, being this late at night
meant he had no idea who was nearby.

As everyone lay down, there were the screams of Natsumi from being attacked by Miku,
Shidou’s groan after feeling Origami’s breath draw near him, and Kotori’s roar after noticing this
incident. But soon after everyone fell asleep, the surroundings fell into silence.

Right now there were the sounds of insects and owls coming from afar. From time to time, he
could hear some sounds of sleeping as well as Nia’s snoring.

Rather than call it silence, there were no problems left in this darkness.

“……Hey, Shidou. Are you still awake?”

Suddenly, a voice came from nearby. Shidou’s eyelids jumped open in surprise.

“……What’s wrong, Tohka. Can’t sleep?”

Shidou turned to Tohka with a relaxed expression and replied in a whisper to not wake anyone
else up.

That’s right, despite the guessing game used to determine positions; Shidou and Tohka were
sleeping in the same position as Tohka originally wanted.

“Hehe……so you’re awake after all. I don’t know why……I just had a feeling.”

After saying that, Tohka faintly smiled.

Those words gave Shidou a strange impression. For some reason, Shidou could also tell that
Tohka was still awake.

Just like a scene that would be the same regardless of having one’s eyes closed, Tohka continued
on.
“Today──was so much fun. Playing by the river and playing by the sea have different
sensations. The taste of barbeque was also the best. Setting up tents with everyone is also a good
memory.”

“Haha……that’s good. For the time being, this is Miku’s graduation trip, but it was good that
everyone could come along.”

“Muu……really it was so much fun. If only……I can come here again.”

“Well, for sure. With DEM taken care off, we can come several times. Let’s do it together with
everyone.”

“……Un, yeah.”

“…………?”

Shidou titled his head slightly. Because of the darkness, Shidou could see Tohka’s expression,
but he could hear a little sadness in Tohka’s voice.

“What’s wrong, Tohka?”

“……No, I’m fine. I just can’t sleep because I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Good night,
Shidou.”

After saying that, Tohka turned the other way and stopped talking.

Although Shidou had some questions about this──but soon, because of his intense sleepiness,
Shidou didn’t continue to ask his question.
Spirit Werewolf

“──Early in the morning, on the outskirts of the village, the corpse of the most beautiful girl in
the village, Maria, was discovered.”

Against the backdrop of the intermittent rain, such passage was calmly passed onto their
smartphones.

“The corpse was badly maimed, suggesting that this brutal act can only be regarded as done by
something not human. Huge claw marks, traces of sharp fangs, and also the smell of a beast that
still lingers──

All of the evidence presented point to the fact that there is werewolf hidden within this village.”

After hearing this, all of the surrounding people gulped.

It could be to moisten their throats getting dry from the tension──or perhaps to suppress the
saliva ready to leak out.

“Yes, you must find the werewolf hidden among the villagers. Even if a mistake in judgment
leads to a companion’s neck being hanged, do not hesitate. If you do, you may be the one lying
dead tomorrow morning──”

As the voice from the smartphone said that, a flash of lightning fell, illuminating the faces of the
girls in the dark tent.

“……!”

Shidou couldn't help but feel his breathing choke up.

If asked for the reason why, it was because at that moment he saw the silhouette of a wolf from
the shadows of the girls illuminated by the electrical light.

……In this manner, even though it started with this disturbing introduction, this wasn’t actually
a murder case.

The cause of the incident went back to this morning. Shidou and the others, who had set up camp
by the riverside yesterday for Miku’s graduation trip, were woken up this morning by the sound
of rain.

“Ah……it’s raining a lot. Going by the river to play would be impossible now.”
Shidou looked to the situation outside as he said that. After hearing this, the Spirits crowded in
the tent all sighed in regret.

“Muu……I see.”

“Ugh, the sky is too fickle in changing.”

While saying something like that, they all gave their opinions on the matter.

Right, in this huge tent were Tohka, Origami, Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi,
Nia, Mukuro, and Kurumi. The Spirits under the protection of Ratatoskr were gathered here in
full force.

“Well, it’s a pity, but the weather isn’t something we can change. But what to do? Are there any
games we can play on a rainy day?”

Miku slanted her head while placed her finger against her cheek. Then, Nia started fishing
through her backpack as if remembering something.

“Fufufu, I was wondering if something like this was going to happen, so I came prepared.”

With that said, she took out a few small boxes with colorful pictures on them.

“This is?”

“Yup, it’s the so-called analog games. When speaking of school trips, these are indispensable.
Why don’t we try them together?”

“These are for school trips huh.”

Shidou bitterly smiled while looking down at the boxes lined up by Nia. There were playing card
games like UNO as well several games he didn’t recognize.

“There are quite a few types……which one do you recommend?”

“Hmm, now that I think about it.”

Nia made a gesture of scrutinizing the boxes in front of her. After giving it some thought, she
licked her lips and reached out for one of the boxes.

“Then how about trying this. It’s called ‘Werewolf! It’s quite famous, so some of you must have
heard it?”

While talking, Nia showed everyone a game box with a wolf pattern.

“Werewolf……”

Certainly, he’s never played it before, but he was familiar with the name. In addition to Shidou,
Origami, Natsumi, the Yamai sisters, and Kotori all gave a similar look.

“Werewolf……?”

“Muu, it sounds terrifying.”

Yoshino and Tohka spoke while staring at the cards with a serious look. Seeing them like this,
Nia laughed in a light tone.

“It’s not such a scary game. To put it bluntly, it’s a so-called concealment game. If you can hunt
the werewolves mixed in with the villagers, the villager side wins. If the number of villagers is
reduced to the same number as the werewolves, then the werewolves have won. How about it?
Isn’t it simple?”

After listening to Nia, Mukuro asked puzzledly.

“Mun……since it is a werewolf, must it not be stronger than a human? How can humans defeat a
werewolf?”

“This game is divided into day and night rounds, so the werewolf can only be in beast mode
during nighttime. That’s why one villager is attacked every night, but during the daytime the
werewolf isn’t any different from a normal human being. That’s why the villagers will identify
the werewolf during daytime and hang them dry.”

While saying that, Nia let out a “Gee” sound while pretending to strangle her own neck. Yoshino
was a little startled upon seeing that sight.

“It is a scary game……”

“No, no, nobody is actually going to be hanged.”

Nia tried to calm down Yoshino with a lighthearted smile. While listening, Kotori folded her
arms and stirred the Chupa Chups stick in her mouth.

“I see. Although the villagers must kill the werewolf, they don’t know who it is. Therefore, if
there’s any misjudgment it’ll be an ally hanged. But if you do nothing, you’ll still be killed by
the werewolf in the end. Despite the subject matter being scary, this isn’t a game that lacks
interest.”

“Right? And even though we have 12 people, we can still all participate in the game at the same
time.”

“Ufufu, but in finding the lurking werewolf relying on instinct and luck alone won’t work. There
must be a strategy to this game, correct?”

Kurumi narrowed her eyes while saying that. “What you say is true.”, Nia nodded in agreement
as she spread out the cards onto the floor.

“There are various professions in a game of ‘Werewolf”. Each profession has its own role.

──First of all, ‘Villager’.”

With that said, Nia picked up a card with a cartoonish person drawn on it and showed it to
everyone.

“Although it’s the profession with the largest number of cards and no special abilities, it’s a
position said to be the main character of the game. Armed with courage and wisdom, your
mission is to defeat the werewolf.”

Then, Nia placed a card with a wolf next to it.

“Next up is ‘Werewolf’. One villager will be attacked every night. During the daytime, you have
to play a harmless villager so that everyone else doesn’t suspect you. In a game of 12 people,
there should be two werewolves in the game. If those two are dead, the villagers win. If the
number of people is reduced to the same number of werewolves, the werewolf side wins.”

And then──Nia placed new cards next to them. What was drawn there was a character holding a
crystal ball, a character with a ghost behind them, and a character in armor holding a sword.

“These three are key positions for the villagers to win.

The ‘Fortuneteller’ can nominate one person every night and know whether that person is human
or werewolf. If the werewolf is found, the situation will lean greatly to the villagers at once.
Then, there is the ‘Spiritualist’, this profession can tell whether the person hanged the previous
day is a villager or werewolf. This is also very important information. If the werewolf has been
killed, then it’s worth celebrating. But if the situation is the opposite, then that means the
villagers have killed one of their companions.

The next one is ‘Knight’. This is the only profession that can compete against the werewolf at
nighttime. The knight can be appointed to guard one person every night. A person protected by
the knight won’t die even if attacked by the werewolf. But be aware that if the knight is attacked,
they will die, so please be careful to not carelessly reveal your identity.”

The Spirits mumbled to themselves while looking at the cards in the order introduced by Nia.

At that moment, Miku raised her index finger and asked.

“I roughly understand now, but isn’t the werewolf side at too much of a disadvantage?”

Then, Nia let out a “Nfufufu” laugh while placing a new card on the floor. Drawn on the card
was a character grinning under the moonlight.

“── ‘Madman’. The trickster in the game. Although a member of the werewolf camp, they’ll be
judged as a villager even when investigated by the fortuneteller and spiritualist. In other words,
the madman is a traitor among the villagers that is collaborating with the werewolf. The madman
will disrupt the situation to aid the werewolf, the werewolf’s ally at the critical moment during
an ambush.”

“I see……that’s quite a nasty job title. But if I do it, it will be a little fun.”

After listening to that introduction, Miku couldn’t help but break out a few drops of cold sweat
while smiling. “Right?” Nia smiled back before turning her attention back to the remaining
cards. After thinking it over for a few seconds, she chose two more cards to place on the ground.

“Since 12 is a large number of people playing, why don’t we add two more special cards. First
up is── ‘Demon Fox’.”

“Demon fox……? What kind of position is that?”

“Hmm, the demon fox is a third-party. You won’t die even if attacked by the werewolf.”

“Huh? What? Can they only die from hanging?”

Natsumi asked with one eye closed.

However, Nia shook her head.

“No, no, not only that. The demon fox is cursed when discovered by the fortuneteller. So even
though its strong against the werewolf, it’s still difficult to last until the end.”
“Hmm……I see.”

“But at the moment when victory for the villager or werewolf side is confirmed, the demon fox
will win if they survive to that point. The difficulty level is high, but isn’t there a sense of
accomplishment from playing the demon fox and obtaining victory?”

Nia said with a wink while dropping down the last card. A character holding delicious beard was
drawn there.

“This person is the “Baker”. Every morning this person bakes delicious bread for everyone.”

“What!?”

Upon hearing this, Tohka glistened her eyes with excitement.

“That’s a good job title!”

“Isn’t it? Generally speaking, this is an unpopular card that’s not commonly used, but I thought
Tohka-chan would like it.”

“Umu! It’s a wonderful card!”

Tohka kept nodding with a huge smile on her face. Shidou couldn’t help but smile seeing this
before he turned to ask Nia.

“So then what is the effect of the bread?”

“It’s very delicious.”

“Ha?”

“Like I said, the baker will just bake delicious bread for everyone. Besides, what else can you
ask from a baker?”

“…………”

After a brief silence, Shidou finally figured it out. In other words, this was just a card to liven up
the mood. To phrase it bluntly, if the bread that was baked every morning was no longer being
baked, that much would be effective enough to tell that the person hanged yesterday or attacked
by the werewolf was the baker.”

“Well, alright. Do you want to try it for the time being?”

Compared to blindly learning the rules, these sorts of games were easier to pick up everything
through actually playing it. With that in mind, Shidou gave that proposal.
“Yup, that’s right. There are many different ways of playing this, but let’s use the rules I know
for the time being……ah, that’s right. This game needs a gamemaster that has mastery over all
the professions. Although it’s okay for me to be the host, that would make one less player in the
game. Then let’s do this──”

Nia took out the smartphone from her pocket and began operating it. Then, she placed it at a
position that was easy for everyone to see.

There was a familiar face being displayed on the screen.

“Huh? Maria?”

“──Yes. Are you enjoying your trip, Shidou?”

The Fraxinus AI replied back to Shidou through the smartphone’s speaker.

“I’ve heard the entire story. Let me act as the gamemaster. ──Although I am a little dissatisfied
with a request coming from Nia, a mature personality like me won’t get angry at something of
this level. Yes, even if I was treated as a convenient woman who can only come in handy in such
occasions, I am not at all angry.”

“…………”

Contrary to her words, she seemed quite dissatisfied. They should probably bring back some
souvenirs for her on the way back.

“——Now, let’s get started. Please shuffle the cards that you wish to use and distribute one to
each person.”

“A-Ah……”

Shidou followed Maria’s instructions and began to shuffle the cards.

At that moment, a girl quietly raised her hand to obstruct the momentum. ──It was Origami.

“──Wait. I have one suggestion.”

“Suggestion?”

Origami nodded in response to Shidou’s inquiry and continued on.

“Werewolf is a very good game, but to make it more interesting I would propose the adoption of
the OO style rules.”

“……OO style……hold on, do you mean the Oririn Original……”

Feeling a sense of déjà vu over this, Shidou’s cheeks tightened. However, Origami shook her
head without changing her expression.

“Oririn Almighty.” (TL note: Almighty starts with an O sound in Japanese)

“If it’s not what I said, what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Shidou raised his voice to the level of a scream. Certainly, during the snowball fight they had
before, Origami had made a similar proposal.

“The OO style rules have two main points. First, the winners of the surviving camp can make
any request to the losing camp. Second, cheating that isn’t proven won’t be considered
cheating.”

“You must be plotting something!”

Playing against Origami with these sets of rules would be considered suicide. Shidou repeatedly
shook his head to express his opposition.

However, contrary to Shidou, Maria didn’t seem to care much about this.

“Alright, I agree to these terms.”

“Hey, hey, are you serious? If you approve those rules, have you any idea what she may try and

do?”

“It’s interesting to see how messy this will become. Moreover.”

“Moreover?”

“There’s no harm in it for me.”

“…………”

……Sure enough, the root of this seemed to be not being able to participate on this trip. But
since there was Ratatoskr work that couldn’t be left aside, it couldn’t be helped.

“With that being said, I don’t think Origami could benefit from those rules.”

“Huh?”

“After the game starts, you’ll understand. ──Come now, distribute the cards to everyone.”

“A-Aah……”
Shidou assigned a card to each person as instructed.

And thus, the first night arrived for a village with a lurking werewolf.

“Mariaaaa!”

“How could this be, Maria-san was……”

“……No, aren’t you embarrassed at calling yourself the most beautiful girl in the village?”

With the body found on the outskirts of the village (the established setting for now), the villagers
raised a scream (rushed towards) to Maria.

After this, a voice echoed from the smartphone again.

“The death of Maria, a beautiful girl like a flower loved by everyone, brought a deep sorrow to
the village. But blind sadness will be no help at all. As you know, there are two werewolves
lurking among you.

You guys must search for anyone suspicious and make the decision to hang them.

——The discussion time has started. Discuss with everyone and decide who will drop out
today.”

A countdown appeared on the screen of the smartphone conveying Maria’s words. It seemed
they had to come to a verdict before it reached zero.

“…………”

Shidou reconfirmed the card in his hand before exhaling a little.

——The card with a fox character drawn on it.

Right. Shidou’s profession was the demon fox, said to have the greatest level of difficulty.

This also meant that Shidou must avoided being detected by the fortuneteller and live to the end.
This profession really was walking on a dangling tightrope.

“The werewolf that killed Maria is among us……”

“Dread. There are too few clues.”

Kaguya and Yuzuru surveyed around the crowd with serious look. The two of them with strong
ambitions of winning had already emersed themselves in the scenario of the game.

Seeing this, Shidou also changed his way of thinking. Certainly, his current identity was that of a
demon fox, but right now he must play the role of a harmless villager and work with everyone to
find the werewolf.

“That’s right. It seems that the fortuneteller and spiritualist must wait until the second night
before they can use their abilities. Does that mean we need to guess who to hang for the first
day?”

While saying that, Shidou looked at everyone’s expression. ….But it was hopeless, it was
impossible to tell the identity of the werewolves from that alone.

The only information he could tell from expressions was Tohka’s look of disappointment at her
own card. Likely, she didn’t end getting the ‘baker’ card.

As everyone was suspicious of each other, Nia suddenly raised her hand and spoke.

“Okay, Okay! Nia-chan is coming out and saying it now! Actually, I am the fortuneteller, so
don’t hang me by mistake!”

“Huh……!?”

The sudden confession left Shidou stunned. No, not just Shidou, several of the Spirits also were
surprised.

That’s right, if you declare yourself to be the fortuneteller, you wouldn’t be tied up. However,
the fortuneteller was also the profession that the werewolf wanted to erase the most.

“I-Is that okay, Nia? Suddenly giving out your identity like that, if you’re attacked by the
werewolf tonight, you won’t be able to do your fortunetelling——"

“Nfufufu, don’t worry. Because there is still the knight in the village.”

“Ah……”

As it stood, that certainly was true. If there is the knight that can withstand the attacks of the
werewolf, it would be okay to confess your identity. In fact, this would be actually a good way to
prevent the fortuneteller from being killed on the first day.

“——Just like that, the knight among us! Remember to guard me tonight! Ah, but there’s no
need for you to identify yourself yet! Otherwise you’ll be targeted by the werewolves!”
While saying that, Nia cheerfully waved her hand.

Like this, the village with no clues had received a small guide forward. It would be desirable for
today’s dropout to be chosen from someone other than Nia——but.

“……Eh?”

In the next second, Shidou couldn’t help but raise his brow.

It was no wonder why. At that moment, Mukuro had raised her hand high just like Nia.

“Mun……what does this mean? Muku is also the fortuneteller……”

Mukuro said that in a confused manner.

After hearing this, the Spirits all gave confounded looks.

——There are two fortunetellers.

That is to say either Nia or Mukuro was lying. That must mean——

“…………”

Shidou half-unconsciously turned his gaze towards Nia.

No, more accurately, it wasn’t just Shidou. The other Spirits all tacitly looked towards Nia’s
direction, their eyes all seem to say……

(I feel Mukuro is the real one……)

“……W-Why are you all looking at me like that!”

Nia’s cheeks spasmed as she likely guessed their intentions.

“Um……”

“No reason……”

“It’s obvious that you guys are more suspicious of me! Why! My conditions should be the same
as Mukku-chin!”

Dissatisfied with everyone’s response, Nia faked some tears after pretending to be wronged.

……So it would be like this, for better or for worse, Shidou understood that this game would use
words to misdirect on a daily basis.
Regardless, no matter how suspicious, there was no concrete evidence. In order to avoid killing
the fortuneteller by mistake as much as possible, it would still be appropriate to choose someone
else other than Nia or Mukuro.

The question would be on which one the knight would protect tonight. If they protect the fake
fortuneteller, the real fortuneteller would be killed by the werewolves and everything will be in
vain. Indeed, the werewolf or madmen pretending to be the fortuneteller must have been aiming
for this effect.

As Shidou was thinking this over, an alarm sound began to beep from his smartphone.

“It is time. Please select the person who will dropout tonight.”

“Huh, already!?”

“I don’t understand anything yet……”

The Spirits all had difficult looks over Maria’s announcement.

Two self-proclaimed fortunetellers, Nia and Mukuro, had revealed themselves, but there were no
other clues. Although the options had been narrowed down to a degree, it would still depend
solely on intuition to decide who would drop out first.

“……No, but——”

Shidou scratched his cheeks while sorting out his thoughts.

Certainly, he didn’t know who was suspicious. However, he had an idea on the person who
should be nominated for the first day.

“Then please start voting. Please point your finger at the person you wish to hang. All together
now——”

“……….”

The sound came from someone in the tent holding their breath. But that wasn’t unreasonable.

After all, the fingers of Shidou, Tohka, Kotori, Natsumi, Yoshino, Mukuro, and Nia were all
pointed at Origami.

Incidentally, Origami and Kurumi pointed at Natsumi, Kaguya and Yuzuru pointed at each other,
and Miku pointed at Kotori.

“——Why?”
Origami spoke in surprise. Certainly, Origami’s name hadn’t received any particular attention
until now. It may be considered unusual for her to collect a vast majority of the votes and be
selected as the dropout.

But despite having said that, the reasoning was clear. Shidou explained as he scratched his head
with half an eye open.

“……Uh, even if you ask why, it would be scary to let someone who advocated those rules to
stay till the end……”

After listening to Shidou, the Spirits nodded in agreement.

“That rule you mentioned was clearly meant to give way to cheating.”

“……The best policy is to kill you while we can still kill you……”

“S-Sorry……”

Confronted by everyone’s opinions, Origami frowned in regret.

“Miscalculation. I was hung before getting to show my finger substitution technique.”

“Wait what were you going to do……”

As Shidou asked in cold sweat, Origami sighed and left the small circle where everyone was
sitting.

“The rules are rules. I’m dropping out here, but I hope everyone can hunt down the werewolves
and regain the peaceful village.”

“Origami-san……”

Origami sat a little farther away and entered into spectator mode. Apparently, that was the world
after death.

“Now, night will arrive once more. Everyone, please close your eyes.”

Following Maria’s instructions, Shidou and the others tightly closed their eyes.

“——It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Miku’s
corpse was discovered in a wretched state.”

“Kiyaaaaaaaaa——!?”
Miku let out a hair-raising scream at Maria’s declaration.

“I-I’m dead!? But I haven’t done anything yet……”

With that said, Miku curled up her back with tears in her eyes. Yoshino tried to soothe her by
patting her on the back

“Hmm, Mikki was killed. That must mean Mikki wasn’t the werewolf.”

“……Eh, really? I thought Miku must be a werewolf. Image wise……”

After hearing what Nia had said, Natsumi opened her eyes while greatly surprised.

“What do you mean image wise!? For me to attack girls every night, that sort of thing……that
sort of thing……”

Miku’s voice was gradually growing smaller. From that impression, she must be thinking,
“this……feels surprisingly good……? I mean if it’s a situation where some has to be attacked
every night……”, or rather something along those lines.

“Now, Miku please depart to the world after death.”

“It can’t be helped. I’ll be watching everyone’s heroism in heaven with Origami-san.”

With that said, Miku left the small group circle. Incidentally, in the post-mortem world, Miku
was instantly suppressed after trying to hug Origami.”

“Incidentally, delicious bread was delivered to everyone in the morning as well.”

“Ooh, the baker is safe!”

Tohka let out a sigh of relief over Maria’s words.

Shidou unintentionally smiled. From that situation, he could infer that Tohka wasn’t the baker.

“Now, please select the person who will be hanged today. The discussion has begun.”

At the same time with Maria’s declaration, a countdown began on the smartphone screen just
like before.

At the same time, the self-proclaimed fortuneteller Nia immediately raised her hand.

“Yes, yes! Everyone please listen! I forecasted boy’s fortune last night and found that he was a
perfectly genuine human being!”

“Huh? You did fortunetelling for me?”

“That’s right. This way boy’s innocence is confirmed! Let’s work together to find the
werewolves!”

Nia said while giving a thumbs up. Compelled by her momentum, Shidou bitterly smiled and
also gave a thumbs up in response.

Then, Mukuro also raised her hand and spoke.

“Mun, Muku has investigated Natsumi last night. Natsumi is also human.”

“Hmm……I see. Compared to yesterday, there are more materials for judgement.”

Kotori stroked her chin as if to indicate a thinking state.

Indeed, it was just as she said. It was regrettable that the werewolf wasn’t found, but in this
manner the scope of suspects had been further reduced——

(…………Wait)

Thinking it over, Shidou twitched his eyebrows. In the current flow of events, there was
definitely something amiss.

Right. Nia did say that she told Shidou’s fortune.

However, Shidou, as the demon fox who would be cursed to die once divined by the
fortuneteller, was obviously still alive.

That could only mean one thing.

(——So, you’re the fake after all Niaaaaaa!?)

Shidou raised an unvoiced cry in his heart.

There was no benefit for the people in the villager camp to disguise their identities. In other
words, Nia is either a werewolf or madman pretending to be the fortuneteller. There was no other
possibility.

Unexpectedly, he had obtained information that everyone else has yet to know. ……But this
wasn’t good. If Nia grows suspicious, Shidou’s true identity may also be revealed. It would be
better to wait and see how this unfolds.

After all, as the demon fox it didn’t matter if the werewolf or villager side wins. All he needed to
do was survive until the very end.
If so, it would be beneficial to treat Nia as the real fortuneteller and join the werewolf camp.
……Well, in order to do that, he would need to call the Mukuro, the real fortuneteller a fake,
which weighed heavily on Shidou’s consciousness.

“Um……”

As Shidou was thinking that over, Yoshino suddenly let out her voice.

“Mu? What’s wrong, Yoshino?”

“Yes, I am actually the spiritualist.”

“Eh?”

Shidou’s attention turned to Yoshino who had suddenly revealed her identity.

The spiritualist was a position that could tell the identity of the person who was hanged
yesterday——in the current situation it would be Origami’s identity. Like the fortuneteller, it
was a role that offered guidance to the villagers. However, for that reason, it was also a prime
target for the werewolves.

Even so, for the spiritualist to reveal her identity now would mean——

“Origami-san……is a werewolf.”

“……!”

Yoshino’s words shocked the audience. It was no wonder. Origami, who had been voted out for
an outside the game premise, was a werewolf.

For the villagers, this was a very lucky situation. But on the other hand, such smooth progress
was also suspicious. While not giving any explicit statements, Kurumi and Kotori thoughtfully
narrowed their eyes.

Having said that, it turned out no other person came out and claimed to be the spiritualist. Of
course, there was the possibility that either the dead Origami and Miku was the spiritualist and
Yoshino was hedging on that. ……But when considering Yoshino’s personality, the probability
seemed unlikely.

“……In that case.”

Natsumi grumbled while having a sullen look.

“……The werewolves should know the identity of their companions……that is to say, one of the
people who didn’t vote for Origami on the first day is a werewolf?”
“……”

Natsumi’s reasoning caused Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Kurumi to frown.

Right. These three people didn’t vote for Origami on the first day. Strictly speaking, Miku also
didn’t vote for Origami, but she had already been killed by the werewolf.

“H-Hold on. Being a suspect from that alone is unreasonable.”

“Dissatisfied. What Kaguya says is true, looking for an opportunity to argue.”

“That’s correct. Isn’t there also the possibility of Yoshino-san lying?”

The three people who were suspected gave their counterargument.

However, at that moment, the alarm signaling the end of discussion time had rang.

“Time is up. Please vote now.”

“What? Obviously, we’ve just reached the critical moment!?”

“Even though there is no conformation……it can’t be helped.”

Nia and Kotori frowned as they raised their fingers. Shidou and the other two followed the other
two as they began to vote.

“Then, please select the person that will be hanged today. All together now——”

Under Maria’s guidance, everyone pointed to their chosen goal. The result was——

Kurumi, four votes.

Kaguya, four votes.

Yuzuru, two votes.

“Hmm, Kurumi and Kaguya have the same number of votes.”

“What would you do in this case?”

As Kotori asked, a different number appeared on the screen of the smartphone screen.

“In the case of the same number of votes, both parties will be given one minute to defend
themselves before a revote. If the vote is still the same as the revote, there will be no dropouts
today.”
“I see……”

As Kotori got her answer, she spung the Chupa Chups stick in her mouth and cast her eyes onto
Kaguya and Kurumi.

“Then let’s start with Kaguya. Can you explain why you didn’t vote for Origami?”

“Hey……”

At the end of Kotori’s question, the number on the smartphone began to count down. Kaguya
crossed her arms dissatisfied as she began to speak.

“I do have some opinions about the oath made with Origami. But on the other hand, as long as I
win, there won’t be any problem. In that case, defeating the enemy is the supreme goal, isn’t it!?
I am not a werewolf! If I die, the light of life will go out with me!”

Kaguya clenched her fist while giving a powerful speech. Well, they couldn’t quite tell what
those last words meant.

“Then, next up is Kurumi. If you will please.”

The countdown was restarted as if to match Maria’s voice. At the same time, Kurumi started
talking while looking at everyone.

“My reasoning is roughly the same as Kaguya-san. I am not incapable of understanding

everyone’s choice, but if I must choose, I still wish to make a choice that would be more
beneficial for the future. As for the reason why I voted for Natsumi-san——”

Having said this, Kurumi licked her lips and revealed a coquettish smile.

“If I run into trouble from a hostile person turning enemy, it would be better to hang them first.”

“…………”

The Spirits were left speechless

……How to describe this? Even without any conformation, just from Kurumi’s expression and
the words spoken——

It all felt just like a werewolf.

“Then, please cast your revote. All together now——”

As expected, all at once everyone’s fingers had pointed at Kurumi.

“Ara, ara. How sad. You all are not willing to believe me.”
Kurumi sighed as she got up and embarked on a journey for the afterlife where Origami and
Miku were located.

“Kurumi was executed. Now night will come again. Everyone please close your eyes.”

Maria said that in a light tone. Shidou and the others closed their eyes in accordance to the
instructions and waited for night to fall.

“——It’s morning. Please open your eyes.

What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Kaguya’s corpse was found in a very interesting
pose.”

“Huuuuuuh!? Why am I the only one with something strange added on!”

Kaguya screamed at Maria’s merciless words.

“Wha……”

Shidou and some of the Spirits frowned upon hearing this.

There are two main reasons. One was simply the concern that the werewolf hasn’t been hunted
down yet.

The second was the surprise that today’s victim was actually Kaguya.

“What’s going on……? Kaguya was still suspected of being a werewolf. For the real werewolf,
she would have served as a useful smokescreen. Even so to still have been killed……”

As Shidou asked in confusion, Nia replied back while scratching her head.

“Hmm……but it’s not unthinkable. Of course, the werewolf definitely wants to attack the
fortuneteller and spiritualist, but if the knight is still alive then there’s the possibility of that
being useless. With that in mind, Kaguya, who is suspected of being a werewolf, has a low
chance of being protected by the knight. If the werewolf is seeking a quick fight, then that was a
good choice. But because the situation is still unclear, she may also have been randomly selected.
Otherwise—”

“Otherwise?”

As Shidou asked, Nia smirked before continuing on.

“——Something like having fun provoking the villagers like this.”

“………..!”

Hearing what Nia had said, Shidou and the Spirits all gasped.

Then, amidst the tense atmosphere, Maria spoke through the smartphone as if to add fuel to the
fire.

“I have more sad news for everyone.

——I didn’t smell the scent of baked bread this morning.”

“Baaaaaaaaaaker————!?”

Tohka let out a sorrowful scream.

“Gu, guuuu……how could this be, it’s all because of your bread I could hold on till now. U-
Uhhh……! Just you wait……I’ll avenge you……!”

In this manner, Tohka clenched her fist with tears in her eyes. It wasn’t trivial to cry like this,
causing the remaining Spirits to not help but tremble. In the departed afterworld, Miku pouted
her lips and said, “Really, why didn’t you react like this when I died.”

“The baker……ah.”

Shidou frowned slightly.

……Could it be that Kaguya’s last words were actually meant to imply she was baking the
bread? She seemed to have been planning on revealing her career in her own style.

“Everyone’s mood must be very conflicted, but it’s almost time to start the discussion.
Please select the person who will be hanged today.”

After Maria finished speaking, the countdown begun again.

Then, in line with that, Mukuro spoke with some regret in her voice.

“Mun……Muku’s object of divination was Kaguya. Of course, she was human.”

“Ah……is that right? It was a case of bad timing.”

Shidou awkwardly scratched his cheeks after hearing Mukuro’s words.

Indeed, no matter how one would phrase it, Kaguya was ruled out as a suspect. It could be a
coincidence but it was the best timing for the werewolf to attack Kaguya.

“Ah, me too. What a shame about Kaguya.”

“…………”

Nia hurriedly continued off from where Mukuro’s words left off. The Spirits narrowed their eyes
out of their distrust towards her.

However, there was no evidence that this was a lie. Because right now, there was one person
more suspicious than Nia.

Yoshino spoke with a trembling voice.

“Kurumi-san was a human being. The same for Kaguya-san as well. T-That means……”

While saying that, Yoshino cowered while glancing at Yuzuru. Yuzuru repeatedly shook her
head to refute the claim.

“Explanation. It is not Yuzuru. Please try to reconsider it. If Yuzuru is the werewolf, she
wouldn’t attack Kaguya and make herself the next suspect.”

“Ah……”

After hearing this, Yoshino’s eyes widened as if realizing something.

However, Nia interjected and began mouthing off.

“Eh? Really? Isn’t it because you thought of this excuse beforehand and chose to attack Kaguya
to seek more excitement?”

“Negation. Please stop guessing. Is there any evidence?”

And so, those two started their own battle.

But regardless, it was an unshakable fact that Yuzuru didn’t vote for Origami on the first day.
From Shidou’s point of view, it was basically impossible for Yuzuru to escape death today.

Yuzuru voting for Kaguya wasn’t the problem. The problem was that all the other suspects
besides Yuzuru was now dead. If Yuzuru wasn’t a werewolf, that must mean that the real
werewolf had voted against her teammate on the first day——

“——"

Shidou frowned while thinking that.

Origami introduced those messy rules before the start of the game, which sparked everyone’s
vigilance. Shidou thought at the moment that Origami should be eliminated as soon as possible.
In fact, she actually had been hanged on the first day.
If the real werewolf had expected this early result, then it may be possible that she chose to
abandon her companion in order to avoid future suspicion.

That move would be a huge gamble. However, Shidou had an idea of a person with the courage
of a person who would make such a decision.

“……Mukuro. ……Nia.”

“Mun?”

“Hmm? What’s the matter boy.”

Mukuro and Nia slanted their heads at Nia’s words. Actually, it would be okay just to ask Nia.
But as long as his identity was secured by Nia it would be unnatural to exclude her.

“Tonight, Yuzuru may still be hanged. But if the murders still don’t end, there’s a person I want
you both to use your fortunetelling on.”

“Hmm……?”

“Hoho, then who?”

As the two asked in interest, Shidou slowly raised his hand and pointed at a person.

“——It’s Kotori.”

“…………Huh?”

After Shidou finished speaking, Kotori narrowed her eyes in intrigue.

However, then the alarm rang from the smartphone.

“It is time to vote. Please point to the person you want to drop out for today. All together now
everyone——”

Everyone pointed their fingers in accordance to Maria’s command.

The result was——five votes for Yuzuru and 3 votes for Nia.

“Regret. Ku……it can’t be helped. I hope everyone can fight till the end.”

Yuzuru looked sad as she walked towards the afterlife. Kaguya and Miku happily waved to
welcome her.

“Yuzuru is out. It is nighttime again, please close your eyes.”

Maria’s voice echoed in the village where only seven people remained. As night fell, the
werewolf’s atrocities were about to repeat once more.

“——It’s morning. Please open your eyes. There is good news for everyone. No one died last
night.”

“Huh……!?”

“Does that mean there are no more werewolves……?”

“No. The werewolf is still lurking in the village. Please start the discussion.”

As soon as Maria’s voice fell, the countdown began again. Shidou and the others turned to look
at each other with serious expressions.

“The werewolf is still here but no one was sacrificed……in other words, did the knight protect
the person who was attacked!?”

Shidou deliberately raised his voice as he said that. In fact, it was possible that the werewolf was
eyeing the demon fox and resulted in this conclusion. However, Shidou wanted to minimize the
existence of the demon fox, so he deliberately promoted the existence of the knight.

Then Nia gave a round of applause to match this.

“It should be. Hurray for the knight! This is close to our victory!”

“Ah. ……Then, what happened to what I wanted you to do yesterday——”

Shidou looked at Kotori while saying that. Kotori calmly and leisurely raised her Chupa Chups
stick, as if welcoming the challenge.

“Mun……”

Mukuro pointed to Kotori with cold sweat dripping down her cheeks.

“Imotogo……is a werewolf.”

“…………!”

Mukuro’s words caused Tohka, Natsumi, and Yoshino to hold their breath.

Only Nia fiercely reacted.

“Huuh!? What is Mukku-chin saying!? Imoto-chan is clearly a human being!”

Nia’s position was diametrically opposite of Mukuro’s.

At the same time, Kotori exaggeratingly shrugged.

“Yes, I am human. I was wonder which fortuneteller was fake, but to think it was Mukuro. How
surprising, you know how to play so well despite this being your first game. ——On the
contrary, Nia is too proficient that it makes people suspicious.”

“Ahah! How merciless!”

Nia sticked out her tongue while slapping her forehead. ……This exaggerated performance was
as suspicious as ever.

“M……Muu, which one is telling the truth……?”

Tohka looked confused. Then, Nia and Mukuro both leaned forward at the same time.

“Tohka, believe in Muku! Imotogo is a werewolf!”

“Don’t be fooled Tohka-chan! Believe in me!”

“M-Muu……”

Tohka casted her eyes to Shidou as plea for help. Shidou bitterly smiled as he put together his
thoughts in his head.

The real fortuneteller is Mukuro. Then, as Shidou expected, Kotori is the werewolf.

Since the other werewolf Origami had already died, if Kotori is hanged now, the villagers——
no, the victory of the demon fox Shidou will be confirmed.

It felt painful to deceive Tohka and the others, but this was a game.

Shidou opened his mouth after a small nod.

“——I think Mukuro is correct. If you vote for Kotori, it’ll be our victory.”

Hearing what Shidou said, Tohka brightened her face.

“I see. Then——”

——But at that very moment.

“……Can you hold on for a second?”

Natsumi stretched out her hand and interrupted Tohka’s words.

“Natsumi……?”

“Mukuro is the real fortuneteller and Kotori is the werewolf. I have no objections to this. After
all, Nia has been hitchhiking on Mukuro for a while now. ……But, I think we should postpone
hanging Kotori.”

“? What do you mean, Natsumi-san?”

Yoshino asked with a surprised look. Then Natsumi continued on with a gloomy look on her
face.

“…..Have you forgotten about the existence of the demon fox?”

“——”

Suddenly hearing the name of the demon fox, Shidou felt a tremble reach his shoulders.

“Of course, it is possible that they’ve already dropped out. ……But if victory or defeat is
confirmed while the fox is still alive, then only the fox will win. If possible, it would be best to
hunt the fox first and then hang Kotori.”

“Hmmm…..shouldn’t Muku kill the fox through divination?”

Mukuro asked while slanting her head. After thinking it over, Natsumi slightly shook her head
and replied.

“……No, it may be too late. Even if you succeed in cursing the fox with good luck next round,
one person will be hanged and one more killed by the werewolf. Of course, if the knight survived
and successfully guarded that’s another matter……but if the madman and werewolf are included
in the remaining four, we can no longer win. Because half the votes are held by the enemy, the
werewolf can no longer be hanged.”

“Hmm, what should I do?”

“……It’s best to hang the demon fox this round and then hang the werewolf the next round. In
this case, although a villager will be sacrificed this round, it’s still our victory for the time
being.”

“I see……but how do you know who the demon fox is?”

“Hmm……”

Natsumi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the remaining players one by one.

“……There are two possible candidates, but I don’t think Tohka’s aptitude is in acting…...”
Then, Natsumi softly whispered.

“——Hey, Shidou.”

In the end, it seemed that the target was determined as Natsumi looked straight into Shidou’s
eyes.

“W-What’s the matter?”

“……I remember your identity as a villager was divined by Nia, but I think Nia is the madman.”

Hey, are you a villager being deceived? Or the demon fox surviving through its host?”

“——!”

Hearing those words, from that transparent gaze that seemed to see through everything, Shidou
felt his breathing suffocate.

“…………”

That would have been enough for a genius at observation. Natsumi lowered her eyes and raised
her voice to tell Tohka and the others.

“Let’s hang Shidou today. Even if he is actually a villager, it should be fine as long as we hang
Kotori tomorrow.”

Along with that declaration, the alarm from the smartphone rang.

“Time is up. Please vote on the person who will be out today. All together now everyone——"

Under the Maria’s order, the voting began.

After a moment of hesitation, Tohka and the others reached out to Shidou.

“So it’s me……”

“……Mu. I’m sorry Shidou.”

Tohka apologized as her expression turned dejected. Shidou shrugged with a bitter smile.

“Don’t worry. It’s only a game. I’ll be praying for the villager’s victory.”

With that, Shidou let out a sigh and departed for the afterlife.

“……But really.”
On the way, Shidou glanced at Natsumi and whispered at a volume only he could hear.

“…..She really is amazing.”

It was only now that Shidou recalled what Kurumi had said. She was correct. In this sort of
game, Natsumi was indeed a tricky enemy.

“——It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. Natsumi’s corpse was found on the
outskirts of the village.”

“……Ah, right. I guessed it would be like this. Then, thank you.”

The next morning. Natsumi nodded a little to Maria’s words and waved to Yoshino, Mukuro, and
Tohka before standing up. It was as if she expected to be targeted.

……Only it was still a shame she had to depart, as she stiffened after seeing Miku smiling and
beckoning her to the afterlife.

The remaining five players were Tohka, Yoshino, Mukuro, Kotori and Nia.

“Then, start the discussion. The person who will dropout today——

“No, that’s not needed anymore.”

Tohka then interrupted Maria.

“It’s over, Kotori. Or rather——werewolf!”

Then, Tohka stretched her finger to point to Kotori. Yoshino and Mukuro were also staring at
Kotori with determined looks.

“So it’s like this, what do you think Kotori? If you have any objections, we will enter discussion
time the same as usual.”

Confronted by all of this, Kotori sighed softly and shrugged.

“No need. I don’t think that time can overturn this situation. Although the dead can’t speak, the
words left by the dead can have a great impact on the living. I’ve also learned that as well.”

This was her declaration of defeat.

Maria nodded and then continued.

“I understand. So, today’s dropout is Kotori.

——Night fell, but there were no victims tonight. Congratulations to the villagers, the
werewolves lurking in the village have been eliminated.”

“Ooh!”

“We did it!”

“Mun……!”

The three of them celebrated. In the afterworld, everyone there also gave them a round of
applause.

“Tch, we were clearly one step from victory. Anyway, if it’s me and imoto-chan we could still
have reversed that situation, right?”

Nia complained as she revealed the card in her hand. As expected by Natsumi, the madman was
drawn on there.

“There are also good ways to lose. Shidou’s judgment, Natsumi’s observations, plus Tohka and
the others who were willing to believe in them. It was all wonderful.”

While saying that, Kotori turned over her own card. The werewolf was drawn there.

Looking at this, Nia smiled and said, “imoto-chan is too mature.”

“Kya! You did it! Tohka-san, Yoshino-san, Mukuro-san! You were all so cool! Ah, and of
course Natsumi-san!”

Next, Miku, holding Natsumi under her arm, returned back to the village from the afterlife and
revealed the card in her hand. The image of a knight was drawn there.

“…Wow, Miku you were the knight? You died too early……”

Natsumi, who was caught under Miku’s elbow, revealed her card in cold sweat. The person who
shinned during the finale turned out to be an ordinary villager.

Starting from that, the Spirits who were in the afterlife returned to their positions one by one,
revealing their identities as if to answer any questions.

Origami was a werewolf. Kurumi and Yuzuru were villagers. Kaguya was the baker. And of
course, Mukuro and Yoshino were the fortuneteller and spiritualist respectively.

Basically, it was the same as Shidou’s guesses. Shidou also returned to his position, planning to
reveal the identity of his own card.
——Then, it coincided at the same time as that.

“Hmm. ——Then I won.”

Over there——it was a card with the demon fox drawn on it.

“Huh……!?”

Seeing Tohka’s card, Shidou couldn’t hold back his surprise.

No, not just Shidou, but Natsumi and the other Spirits all also had their eyes widen open in
astonishment.

That’s right. After all, the demon fox card must have been given to Shidou.

Perhaps two demon fox cards had been added in as a mistake? Shidou hurried to flip over the
card in his hand.

“Wha——”

The result caused Shidou to let out a shocked gasp again.

Shidou’s position was demon fox. There was no doubt about that.

But now what Shidou had was an ordinary villager card.

“I-It can’t be? Certainly, I was the demon fox……”

After confusingly distorted his eyebrows, Shidou choked on his breathing upon looking at Tohka
again.

“No way……a switch……!?”

Then, Tohka showed the demon fox card in her hands with a ruthless expression unimaginable
from the usually cheerful Tohka.

“——What nonsense. Human, do you have any evidence?”

“——About everyone’s respective positions, you can find them in my records——”

“Humph.”

Just as Maria was about to say something, Tohka glared at her displeasingly.
At the same time, the screen of the smartphone displaying Maria began to flicker as smoke
eventually began to appear.

“M-My smartphone!?”

Nia screamed as she picked up her phone.

However, Tohka didn’t care about this at all as he continued to calmly look at Shidou.

“I’ll ask again. Do you have any evidence? Assuming what you said is true, have you forgotten
the rules of the game?”

“——!”

Listening to Tohka, Shidou and the other Spirits all trembled a bit.

Indeed, it was just as she said. Although it was quickly forgotten due to Origami being the first to
dropout, the werewolf game was operated under the OO style rules. As long as cheating isn’t
caught, it wouldn’t be considered cheating. In that case, the result at this moment meant
everything.

Tohka glared at everyone to make sure there was no objection and raised her chin while huffing
from her nose.

“There is always one winner. Only Tohka is suitable.”

Then, while saying so, she threw the demon fox card towards Shidou.

Shidou shed cold sweat upon seeing this.

A facial expression that was unimaginable from the usual Tohka. In fact, some of the Spirits
were so surprised by the sudden change that they were left speechless.

However, Shidou had an idea of this Tohka.

Right. ——This was inverse Tohka.

Although there were no abnormalities in Reiryoku or changes in appearance when Spirits

inversed, Shidou felt that the Tohka in front of him was similar to the inverse self from that time.

“……Wait a minute. If you win with the OO style rules, that means——”

Natsumi tensed her brows as she squeezed out those words.

After hearing this, Shidou also noticed. The point of the OO style rules was not only to allow
undiscovered cheating, but the winner retained the right to make any requests they could to the
losers.

“……”

Shidou and the Spirits all gasped.

The normal Tohka was fine enough, but they were all wary of what Tohka asked now that she
had changed like this. Tohka raised her lips to reveal a faint smile as if she noticed everyone’s
concerns.

However——

“……Muu, I am at loss between curry or hamburger steak……considering it’s camping, it

should be curry……”

The next moment, Tohka’s expression changed back to the version that Shidou and the others
were familiar with.

“……Huh?”

Shidou couldn’t help but slant his head and widen his eyes. As a result, Tohka looked on Shidou
with a confused look.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Is it still possible to make a request? Then I wanted to request on the
lunch menu……”

“Ah, no……”

Because Tohka suddenly changed back to her normal state, Shidou was left speechless for what
to say next as he shook his head to shake off the confusion.

But what was going on with Tohka just now?

Feeling as if it was like a strange daydream, Shidou couldn’t help but scratch his cheeks.

Finally, Tohka seemed to reach her decision as she clapped her hands together before speaking.

“I’ve decided. If you will please, everyone.”

“A-Aah. What do you want to eat?”

“No, I decided to leave the lunch menu to Shidou. I would like to make another request.”

“Another request?”
“Umu.”

As Shidou asked, Tohka looked on at everyone and smiled.

“Everyone will continue to live happily forever. That is my wish.”

“————”

Hearing that wish, Shidou didn’t know what to say.

Of course, there were several reasons to be surprised by Tohka’s words. But compared to that,
Tohka’s expression and tone at that moment tightly squeezed Shidou’s heart.

Yes, it was just like the words everyone left behind in the death game moments ago——

“……Mu? What’s wrong?”

“! No……it’s nothing.”

After hearing Shidou’s reply, Tohka happily said, “that’s it!” and gathered everyone’s cards
again.

“Then let’s play another round! With rules that aren’t using the OO style!”

Tohka began dealing the cards to everyone.

The Spirits were still left shocked for a few moments, but their cheeks gradually loosened as they
received the cards dealt.

“Kaka, how amusing. This time I’ll show you my strength!”

“Challenge. Yuzuru won’t lose this time.”

“Then this round we’ll use the OOO style rules——”

“……You’ll be hanged on the first day again, Origami.”

Like this, while opinions were still divided, the preparations for the next round began in an
orderly matter.

“……Then let’s start.”

Shidou breathed a sigh of relief to regain his composure, confirming the card he received before
taking to his seat again.
Tohka After

April. In kitchen of the Itsuka household located in the eastern portion of Tenguu City.

The owner of this house, Itsuka Shidou was rhythmically chopping with his kitchen knife.

He placed the finely shredded cabbage on a plate and paired it up with tomatoes and crab cream
croquette.

“Okay…… Well, this should suffice.”

Shidou breathed out a sigh as he carried the plate with the croquette to the dining room table.

Already on the table, hamburgers, stews, clubhouse sandwiches, an overflowing amount of

dishes were lined up there. It was as if celebrating someone’s birthday. Of course, this amount
was far too much for a single meal.

There was a clear reason why Shidou had prepared this lunch.

Right. It was──

“──I’m back, Shidou!”

At that moment, as he wondering about the source of the sound of footsteps coming from the
hallway, the door vigorously opened as a girl appeared.

Her long night-colored hair softly fluttered. Her crystal-like pair of eyes was dyed with a joyful
look. A face so beautiful and lovely to the point of being bewitching, but right now her face was
colored by a friendly smile. The look on that face, that expression, that voice, Shidou
unintentionally loosened his cheeks. But that couldn’t be helped. She was a girl that Shidou had
continued yearning for over the past year.

“──Oh, welcome back, Tohka.”

A flood of emotions and thoughts were loaded into that brief reply.

Tohka. Yatogami Tohka.

The Spirit that Shidou had once met and sealed her power.

She was an irreplaceable companion who had supported and helped Shidou countless times.

And a year ago──a girl who had disappeared right in front of Shidou.
While wondering if they could ever meet again, she was now already standing in front of him.
This miracle made Shidou feel like shedding tears again.

“Mu, what’s wrong Shidou?”

“……Ah, it’s nothing. It’s just that the inspection took longer than I had expected. Look over
there, lunch is already ready. It’s a full set with all of Tohka’s favorites.”

“Ooh!”

Shidou then directed her to above the table to show there was no falsehood in his words. Tohka’s
eyes widened as she looked hungry enough to bite into the table.

“What……! I never expected you to say everything that I wanted to eat!? Surely there must be
one thing not there──”

“Hm? Was there a little bit of something else you wanted to add?”

As Shidou mischievously smiled, Tohka shook her head. Seeing that comical gesture, he smiled
once again.

“Don’t forget to wash your hands first. Let’s eat it while it’s still hot.”

“Umu!”

Tohka cheerfully nodded, quickly getting prepared before arriving at the table. Sitting across
from her, Shidou pressed his hands together.

“Now then, itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu.”

Shidou and Tohka spoke at the same time as they began eating the freshly prepared meal.

Today was a weekday. Everyone else was at school or work, with only Shidou and Tohka
present at the Itsuka household.

Strictly speaking, Shidou also had a university lecture but decided to take a special day off for
today. After all, today was the day Tohka came back to the Itsuka household in the first time in a
while.

──Going back a few days, on April 10th Tohka had appeared in front of Shidou.

Nia described an existence that could be called the will of the world, it was the story of
how──that which melted as mana into the world had reconstructed Tohka’s information. It went
without saying that this was treated as a terrifying irregularity for Ratatoskr.
No matter how Nia pressed on with her seal of approval, Ratatoskr had no choice but to first
confirm the safety of both Tohka and the world. As expected, Tohka, before reuniting with
everyone, had undergone a detailed examination onboard Fraxinus.

“………”

Shidou, while watching Tohka eating her lunch, relaxed his cheeks. Certainly it wasn’t as if he
didn’t understand Ratatoskr’s concerns. However, with the appearance of her deliciously
enjoying her meal, it was this impression of Tohka that the blank space year sorely lacked.

“D-Delicious……! Your skills have risen even higher since the last time we meet, Shidou!”

“Haha, is that so?”

Shidou awkwardly laughed as he took a bite of the stew.

He didn’t notice it much, but it was indeed just like what Tohka had said. It felt strangely
delicious. Perhaps the reason was because Tohka was now standing right in front of him.

Before long, the dishes lined up on top of the table had been completely consumed. Incidentally,
the ratio for eating was 7% Shidou and 93% Tohka. Tohka stroked her stomach in satisfaction as
she happily sighed.

“What a feast! Muu, being able to enjoy that……I no longer have any regrets.”

“Don’t say that with a smile……”

Tohka strained a laugh while saying that. But then, she twisted her head as if realizing the
meaning of what she had just said.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It is fine, I understand.”

Shidou gave a Tohka-like reply by shrugging his shoulders before continuing on.

“Is there anything else you want to do? Since I took the day off, I’m fine with going out
anywhere.”

After listening to Shidou say that, Tohka made a thoughtful thinking gesture before answering.

“What to……do? Umu, if so then I have one request, Shidou.”

“Of course. What do you want to do?”

“Umu. Then let’s──”

As Shidou asked, Tohka continued on with sparkling eyes.

“Hm──”

In the first year classroom at Raizen High School, the bell ringing reminded everyone of the end
of class.

In line with that, Itsuka Kotori lightly stretched. Her hair tied with both white and black ribbons
tickled the back of her chair. The cuffs of her sleeves that barely passed through her black blazar
made a rustling sound as wrinkles were creased into the cloth.

“Oh, is it already time?”

The teacher standing in front of the blackboard said that while putting down the chalk in her
hands, and then turning around to her students in a grand gesture. Her pale Nordic hair danced
softly in conjunction with her movements.

“Now, let’s end it here for today. Please don’t neglect reviewing everyone.”

While finishing with that command, she gathered the attendance records and textbook,
attempting to leave the classroom. However, the next moment, the teacher’s foot slipped on a
clear area and she flashily fell down.

“Hagu……!?”

With a sudden thump, she landed on her backside with the attendance records and textbook in
her hands now poured down over her head.

“Eh, Ellen-sensei!”

“Are you okay!?”

“……I’m fine. No problem.”

Their English Teacher and homeroom teacher for their class was Ellen Mathers. Even with the
hint of tears in the corner of her eyes, she tried standing up without losing her crisp appearance.

However, because of the severe pain, her legs were trembling just like a newborn fawn. She was
only able to stand up by borrowing the shoulders of the students who came to help.
“Well, still the same as ever.”

Kotori bitterly smiled as she lightly shrugged her shoulders.

Formerly regarded as humanity’s strongest Wizard, the same Ellen who had tormented Kotori
and the others was now an unthinkable child without the Realizer Manifestation Device. It has
only been a few days since High School had started, but this was the third time she had seen her
fall.

“That looks painful……should I go over to help?”

A worried voice came over from the next seat. Looking over there, it was a girl with a gentle
look. The voice came from the former Spirit Himekawa Yoshino who had entered High School
in the same year as Kotori.

On her left hand, her trademark rabbit puppet couldn’t be seen. Her best friend Yoshinon, who
she couldn’t let go once, was now sleeping in Yoshino’s bag.

Yes. Yoshino had been gradually able to live without Yoshinon for about a year now. When at
school, it had grown to the point where she could now work alone.

“Isn’t it fine? There should already be enough manpower there.”

Kotori said while twirling an invisible candy stick.

Actually, a few students had already gathered around Ellen. From the time of admission,
although Ellen gave off a cold atmosphere as if saying, “Humph, I don’t feel like getting along
with students”, the ugly state of her fatal motor nerves was immediately exposed. Nowadays,
she’s regarded as the chief teacher beloved and befriended by her students.

……Well, it was more in line about worried about a troublesome older sister rather than be
respected as an excellent teacher, but it made no difference that she was popular.

When looking at this, there were two students in the front seats that turned over to Kotori.

“Fumun……but it is surprising. I never thought that Ellen would fall so splendidly.”

On one hand was a girl with an innocent look and boasting violent proportions that ran in
conflict with that──the former Spirit Hoshimiya Mukuro.

“Is that right? Since I was in DEM, this was an everyday occurrence that I didn’t like.”

On the other hand was the former Wizard with a fearless expression on her face. Characterized
by a tear shape mole under her left eye──it was Takamiya Mana.
Of course, it was no coincidence that her acquaintances were gathered like this. Even though
everyone has adjusted to their current life and there were no more worries of Reiryoku flowing
backwards, it was convenient for their group to stick together. So Ratatoskr had a hand in
ensuring that everyone was in the same class.

However, it was a perfect coincidence that their seats were lined up together. In fact──

“…………”

Kotori turned to look behind──staring at the seat by the window. Among the Ratatoskr group
there was only one person separated, the former Spirit Kiyono Natsumi was gazing at the sky
with distant eyes.

Although she was able to twist being in the same classroom, it was difficult to control the seating
order that was decided by a complete lottery. As a result, Natsumi was the only unlucky one
separated from their group. Natsumi’s voice and face when the lottery was drawn still left a
lasting impression in Kotori’s mind.

Well, even though Kotori was concerned about Natsumi’s current state, they were still in the
same class. And above all else──

“──Hey, class is already over, Natsumi-san. What are you up to?”

“……Ah, yeah! Sorry, Kanon.”

A girl next to Natsumi said that in a relaxed manner. Natsumi’s shoulders shook as she began to
put away her textbooks. Yes. By also a perfect coincidence, their friend from junior high,
Ayanokouji Kanon, also entered Raizen High School and was in the same class as everyone else.

Kotori softly smiled, turning her body around to store her textbooks into her bag.

English should be the last lesson today at the sixth hour. After finishing homeroom now, they
should be able to go back home. And then, as if following her lead, everyone else started getting
ready as well. Eventually, Ellen returned to the classroom from the staffroom (judging from the
tear in her stockings, she must have stumbled again along the way), and then she gave some
closing remarks to finish homeroom.

“Now, let’s go back home.”

“……Hm. That’s right.”

While saying that, they left the classroom and began walking down the corridor. The school
building after school hours was still filled with a lively bustle, with students either going home or
starting club activities. These two groups took separate paths in order to not get in each other
way.
“──Ah, Itsuka-san. Are you going home now?”

Suddenly, Kotori stopped as a voice was heard coming from behind.

When looking over there, she could see a small teacher wearing glasses. It was a face she had
recognized. Kotori walked over to her and bowed.

“Yes. Goodbye, Okamine──no, Kannazuki-sensei.”

As Kotori corrected herself, Okamine Tamae, or rather Kannazuki Tamae grinned.

“Nyurufufufu……I’m not used to it yet. Can you please call me that again?”

While saying that, she gestured to the ring on her left hand as if to appeal to everyone.

Kotori smiled while calling her Kannazuki-sensei again. Tamae twisted her body while her
cheeks flushed red.

That’s right. Tamae Okamine and Kannazuki Kyouhei, the deputy commander of Fraxinus she
has known for a long time, had finally finished their entry in the family register the other day.

Incidentally, the words for the proposal were, “please step on me each morning while in a junior
high school cosplay”. It seemed that Tamae was so excited she didn’t even think it over and
immediately gave an ok as her reply.

Additionally, when Kotori graduated from junior high, Kannazuki had asked, “I want my honey
to wear it, so can you give me your junior high uniform?” and made a serious attempt at
imitating her measurements as far as one could know.

However, if the person in question is happy, than it doesn’t matter what an outsider says. Kotori
vaguely smiled, letting out a “well then……” before giving her blessings and parting ways. She
resumed her walk as Yoshino and the others followed her lead.

“If we go home now, we’ll make it back before five.”

“Yes. Speaking of which, it has been a long time since everyone has been at home together.”

Mana gave a brief reply to Kotori’s words.

Certainly, Kotori’s group often went to school together, but they didn’t always do the same for
the return trip.

Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro, the three of them had begun a tour to decide which clubs they
wanted to join. Mana, who had made an early decision of joining the kendo club, also had to
participate in practice. Kotori, who also had her job for Ratatoskr to handle, decided to become a
part of the home going club. Therefore, it had been a few days since they had all left homeroom
together.

Only today did everyone promise to go home together.

Yoshino and the others stopped their club activity tour and Mana requested a day off from club
activities in advance. Kotori also had some work left, but decided to go straight home.

That’s right. After all, today was──

“……Hmm?”

Kotori narrowed her eyes while walking through the corridor.

There was a crowd of people gathering ahead of them.

“Fumun, what is going on?”

“Hey. ──Um, what’s happening there?”

Kotori walked up and asked senior student who was ahead of them. The boy turned around while
wiping away the cold sweat from his forehead.

“A-Aah……it seems that the legendary sempai is at the doorway right now.”

“Legendary senpai……?”

While considering that nickname, Kotori thought it over in her head. Was an alumnus that had a
legendary record in club activities? It was April right now. It’s not uncommon for a senior that
had graduated to come out to see their juniors at club activities.

However, the boy student continued on with a stern look.

“You first years might not know about it, but it’s a story passed around by us. ……I don’t want
to say anything bad. You should wait until that sempai is gone. It would be difficult if you catch
sight of him.”

“R-Really……?”

As she stuttered that out, sweat dripped down Kotori’s face.

Being afraid to this extent, was it the name of a well-known delinquent? A former student that
had dropped out because of poor behavior and brought a bad reputation to their Alma
Mater……this was a development frequently seen in dramas.
However, Raizen High School was a school with relatively well-behaved students. When
enrolling the Spirits, Ratatoskr had also investigated to ensure that. She didn’t think there would
be a student with a horrible reputation like this.

However, contrary to Kotori’s expectations, the other male students around her began to also
speak in agreement.

“This senpai is a legendary playboy that always had several girls in his grasp!”

“The female students that transferred here were all caught by his poisonous fangs……!”

“I heard that his home is called ‘My Zoo’ and he held girls in cages there!”

“…………Hmm?”

As Kotori twisted her neck, the crowd of people in front suddenly burst into noise.

“H-He’s here……! That senpai!”

“Hide the girls! Never make eye contact!”

The screams came as if a thief had come to attack a village.

“Uhh……”

“W-what should we do, Kotori-san……”

As Kotori and the others were wondering what was going on, the crowd eventually split scattered
about as the appearance of the legendary senpai was soon revealed.

“Eh?”

“Mun.”

“Oya.”

After gazing at what was there, they all unintentionally widened their eyes.

That’s right. After all, the person standing there was Kotori’s older brother, Itsuka Shidou.

“Onii-chan?”

As Kotori said that, Shidou waved back to them after noticing their presence.

“Ah, you are over here. I finally found you guys.”

And so, while accompanied by the sound of footsteps of guest shoes, he walked over to Kotori
and the others. As that occurred, gossip started to spread through their surroundings.

“……Onii-chan, it sounds like you have a terrifying reputation……”

As Kotori said that with her eyes half-closed, Shidou cheerfully smiled as if not particularly
caring for it much.

“Haha, how do you think it was like when I was at school? ──Noise at this level only feels like
birds chirping to me.”

“……I-Is that right.”

Kotori’s face cramped as she bitterly smiled. It seemed that life with the Spirits had inadvertently
hardened Shidou’s heart like steel. ……As the commander of Ratatoskr who had created this
situation, Kotori felt a little responsible.

“Compared to that, what is going on Nii-sama? Do you have business with your old high
school?”

Mana, who was next to Kotori, asked while she was slanting her head. Right, Shidou was
Kotori’s adoptive older brother while at the same time Mana’s real older brother.

“Onii-chan……? Nii-sama……?”

“Those three are siblings? But aren’t their names Itsuka-san and Takamiya-san? The family
names are different, so that means……”

“No way, he’s even being called Nii-sama……”

The noise grew louder as Kotori and Mana’s names were passed around.

However, Shidou wasn’t concerned about that as he turned around to behind as if his face was
basked in a gentle breeze.

“Aah, just a little. ──I want to show everyone’s current situation.”

“Huh?”

Hearing what Shidou said, everyone rounded their eyes.

Then, Shidou lowered his eyes, moving his body to the side as if showing that someone was
behind him.

“────”
Looking at the silhouette of the person who emerged from behind Shidou, Kotori involuntarily
gasped.

No, it wasn’t just Kotori. Mana, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro.

Everyone’s expression was marked by an astonished hue.

But that was completely unavoidable.

After all, what was standing there was──

“──Umu. It’s been a long time everyone. Fufu, those Raizen uniforms suits you all well.”

It was a girl with night-colored hair smiling kindly while speaking like that.

“Tohka──”

Half-consciously, that name leaked out from her lips.

Of course Kotori and everyone else knew that she had revived after disappearing a year ago.
Everyone met through the monitor once and Kotori also had several conversations during the
examination.

So of course they knew that the tests would end today. That’s why everyone was trying to cancel
their appointments and head straight to home.

Yes, their minds should have been well prepared, with the expectation of thinking over what to
say.

However, when she appeared before them again, the unspoken emotions rushed in one after the
other and nothing could be said.

Then, Tohka smiled at the appearance of Kotori and the others.

“Mu……are you surprised? I thought I should wear this if coming to school……”

While saying that, she lowered her eyes to point out her outfit.

Incidentally, she was wearing the same outfit as Kotori and the others. The exact appearance was
perfectly in line with the Tohka in Kotori’s memory.

Perhaps because of that outfit, the students around said, “Who is that beautiful girl? Could it be
another victim?” “No wait, is that Yatogami-senpai who has been on leave for a year……?”
“Whaat!? It’s rumored that Itsuka-senpai locked her up as a part of his my zoo!?”. Such
whispers floated around. Well, Shidou didn’t seem to care as usual.
“Tohka-san──”

Among the girls now sewn onto that spot, the first one to regain her movement was Yoshino.
Overcome with emotion, she kicked against the floor of the hallway and jumped into Tohka’s
chest with the same momentum as if tumbling down.
“Tohka-san, Tohka-san, Tohka-san……!”

“……Yes, yes. It’s me, Yoshino.”

“Uh, ah, ah──”

Tohka gently held Yoshino while stroking her back. Yoshino’s shoulders trembled as sobs
leaked out from her throat, pressing her face even more strongly into Tohka’s chest.

──That was the trigger.

“Tohka……!”

“……Tohka──!”

“Tohka!”

“Tohka-san……”

Kotori and the others kicked off against the floor as if free from a curse, rushing towards Tohka.
A crowd more packed than a game of Oshikura Manju, they pushed forward to emotionally hug
Tohka. (TL Note: Oshikura Manju (押し競饅頭) is a simple Japanese singing game that is played on cold days in order to get warm. The
players first gather around in a circle, as close to each other as possible.)

“Umu──everyone, I wanted to see you. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Tohka spoke while putting her heartfelt thoughts into words, strongly hugging back each person
one by one in turn.

“Everyone has had a hard time! For that reason, cheers!”

“Prosit!”

“Respond. That means cheers.”

“Cheers.”

In a private room in a bar located within Tenguu City. A number of glasses made a light noise
while following along Honjou Nia’s voice.

“…………”
Tobiichi Origami lifted up the glass in her hands and drank down the liquid pour inside with a
single gulp.

“Hiyu, what a strong drinker you are Oririn.”

Nia clapped her hands while badly trying to whistle.

“No, what do you mean by strong……? This is non-alcoholic.”

“Smile. Saying such words would be boorish. The atmosphere is important here.”

Next to her, Kaguya’s twin sister Yuzuru gently smiled while raising the glass to her lips.

Although as twins they had identical features, it wasn’t difficult to tell them apart. Of course,
there were key characteristics like hairstyle and body shape, but the biggest point of notice was
that they stopped wearing school uniforms after entering university.

For Yuzuru, she favored beautiful clothes typical for a university student. While Kaguya had
become more mature than when in high school, she still like black-based clothes with silver
accessories wrapped around her arm. Therefore, it was quite possible to distinguish the two from
each other even at a considerable distance.

While listening to Yuzuru, Nia let out an ‘ahaha’ laugh while shaking her glass. Of course what
was poured in Nia’s glass was genuine sake.

“Yes, yes, it’s good to get drunk by the atmosphere. ──Or rather it brings out everyone’s true
nature. There are times when being a university student means drinking alcohol. From age 18 to
20, it’s a time to be making mistakes.”

And so, as Nia’s cheeks immediately flushed red, she happily laughed while clapping her hands.

Then, after hearing that, the girl sitting at the back seat began to operate her smartphone.

“Breaking news. Manga artist Souji Honjou is making a bold statement forcing minors to drink
alcohol──”

“Hey, what were you muttering just now Roboko!?”

Nia looked on at her with her eyes wide open. However, this girl──MARIA continued calmly
without changing her expression.

“No, just for a poor cartoonist who is lagging behind in being conscious of the law, shall I tell
you how scare SNS can be?”
“H-Hold on that was just a light joke. Sake should be for 20 year olds! ……So please put your
smartphone aside.”

Nia’s face broke out into cold sweat. MARIA half-closed her eyes, breathing out a sigh as she
returned her smartphone back to the home screen and then into her bag.

“I don’t want to lose my part-time job. So far as it goes a well-known person should hold back
on the careless speech and conduct.”

“Alright……”

Nia replied back with a look of waking up from her drunken stupor.

Maria then began to fold her fingers for mental arithmetic. ……Of course, her computing
performance as the AI of Fraxinus made her incomparable to a human. She shouldn’t need to
take such an action for a simple calculation, so this was her own peculiarity. Maria always
intended to prefer human gestures.

“Now then, I’ll tell you about the billing amount before I forget. Three interface bodies spent
working for ten hours; the total comes up to 600,000 yen. Please transfer to the designated
account by the end of the month. ──Everyone, you all should request early as well.”

While saying that, she turned her line of sight to Origami and the others.

Right. Origami and the others didn’t just get together for a drinking party. Even though the
deadline for Nia’s manuscript was today, there wasn’t enough manpower so they were
dispatched in a hurry. This drinking party was launched after the work was done.

“I’m not pleased.”

Origami slammed the bottom of the glass against the table and thinly exhaled. ──Just for a little
bit, in order to express her heartfelt dissatisfaction.

Nia apologetically pressed her hands together.

“I’m sorry……thinking over it was really bad.”

“That’s not it.”

However, Origami gently shook her head.

Then, the Yamai sisters also nodded.

“Uh-huh. With such help given at great pains, I wish you could have taken us to a better store.”

“Consent. Why is it a cheap chain store? Well, it does fit with Nia’s image.”
After hearing what the Yamai sisters had said, Nia pouted.

“Hey, that’s in poor taste for a university student to say. A public bar has the goodness of a
public bar. I like the light atmosphere over something so stuffy. Well, if you want me to take you
to a higher grade store, after being able drink properly──”

“That’s not the case.”

Origami casually said that to interrupt Nia.

It didn’t matter for her about helping with work nor were there any complaints about this store.

Origami was dissatisfied about something else.

“Even using a reason like this, I didn’t intend to interfere with Shidou and Tohka’s reunion.”

As Origami said that, the Yamai sisters also shrugged their shoulders in agreement.

“Hmm. Well, that’s right. Don’t underestimate us.”

“Agreement. It’s too much of a detour, Nia. Even Yuzuru and the others have that sort of
discernment.”

Nia bitterly smiled and let out an, “ah……” in response to reactions of those three.

Yes. Today was the day when Tohka, who had been resurrected, would return to the Itsuka
household after a detailed examination onboard Fraxinus.

Compared to the high school group, Origami’s group were more flexible in time as university
students. It wasn’t impossible to take a break from their lectures and wait for Tohka with Shidou
at the Itsuka household.

Therefore, it seemed like Nia had perhaps bothered to call in Origami’s group to serve as a
distraction and make as much alone time for Shidou and Tohka as possible. Good grief, they
were worried about something like that.

However, while looking at the three of them, Maria glared back with her eyes half-closed.

“Everyone, please don’t be fooled. There may have been a reason like that, but it’s true that the
progress of the manuscript was terrible.”

“I’m trying to end this topic on a high note, so you don’t have to keep watering down with your
words!”
Nia screamed at Maria’s words. Seeing this same as usual exchange, the Yamai sisters started to
laugh.

──Then

“…….Oh?”

Just then, a ringtone began to echo from Nia’s smartphone. Nia tapped the call button while
adjusting her glasses.

“Hello, hello. Natsun? Ah, have you finished school? Ah, so spot on. Come over here since
everyone’s gathered here. Yeah, the usual store. Alright.”

While saying that, Nia placed her smartphone on the table. Kaguya raised her voice to guess who
was on the other end.

“Natsumi?”

“Hmm. It seems that she contacted me because there was no one in the workplace. I wonder
what happened. Did she come there to kill time until dinner?”

Nia gulped down her beer while saying that, causing Maria to turn a suspicious look at her.

“Could it be it was your usual bad habit of sending a reinforcements-needed email to Natsumi?”

“Eh? Not a chance, no matter how much, a mistake like that……”

Nia scrolled down the screen of her smartphone while in the middle of speaking.

Afterwards, she continued on while full of confidence.

“──such a mistake like that wouldn’t be made by me!”

“No, I’m definitely worried right now!”

“Conviction. Nia was checking if she messaged by mistake.”

The Yamai sisters rushed to give their five cents. Nia stuck out her tongue and let out a “tehe ☆”
as if in an old manga. Well, now it was even more suspicious if she was trying to hide a mistake.

Then, as some minutes passed, just as Nia’s group was talking about something, the door opened
as a new visitor came to the room.

“Over here! Pardon the intrusion!”

“──”
That voice, that figure, they all unintentionally widened their eyes.

But that wasn’t surprising.

After all, the person that appeared there was a different person from what Origami’s group had
expected.

“It’s been a long time! Origami, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Nia! And Maria too, it’s been a while since I
last saw everyone!”

Right. The one who entered the private room wasn’t Natsumi who had sent a phone call to Nia
earlier──

It was Yatogami Tohka, who had been reborn by the will of the world.

“Huh!? Tohka-chan!?”

“What!? No way!”

“Amazement. Why are you here?”

Nia, Kaguya, and Yuzuru’s faces were all marked with astonishment as they leaned forward.
Only Maria was observing the situation calmly.

“Oh, we’ve done it now.”

“……I wonder if it’s okay to be in school uniforms at a bar.”

“Ahaha……”

“It is fine, it is fine. It’s safe as long as there is a single adult.”

Next to Tohka was Shidou, the school group including Natsumi, as well as the rabbit puppet
Yoshinon on Yoshino’s left hand, peering from outside. This private room, which should have
been at a reasonable size, was instantly at full capacity.

“W-What are you guys doing here? What a shock. Was this Roboko’s suggestion?”

“Pardon me. I really wasn’t involved. Well, I knew Tohka and the others were heading here.”

While saying that, Maria suddenly looked down. A sense of being aware, but also she was trying
to imitate a sense of naivety as an excuse for not informing them.

Then, Tohka exaggeratingly nodded as she continued on.

“It was my request. I wanted to go where everyone else was at. ──I wanted to know what
everyone was doing when I was away.”

While saying that, she reached out to firmly shake hands with Kaguya, Yuzuru, Nia, and Maria
in that order. Maria and Yuzuru smiled gently, Nia awkwardly laughed, and Kaguya was teased
by Yuzuru for having tears in her eyes.

And also──

“──Origami. It’s been a long time.”

Finally, Tohka reached out to Origami. One year ago, that person had disappeared right in front
of Origami, with only that voice remaining in Origami’s memories.

“Yes.”

Origami briefly replied, reaching out to that extended hand and squeezing it tightly.

Tohka also responded back by holding onto her hand with a smile. Through her right hand, the
feeling of Tohka’s hand, body temperature, and a faint pulse were all certainly being transmitted.

A real Tohka that was neither a dream nor an illusion. This presence made it seem like the one
year hadn’t passed at all.

──Then, it wasn’t necessary to go easy anymore. Origami gently narrowed her eyes and let out
those words.

“You are very lucky. I’m glad you’re back now.”

“Mu? What does that mean?”

Tohka curiously slanted her head as Origami continued to speak without changing the tone of her
voice.

“If you came back a year later, Shidou would be completely mine.”

“W-Wha……!?”

“──Bufuu!?”

After hearing what Origami had said, Tohka widened her eyes as Shidou started violently
coughing from behind.

“W-What are you talking about Origami! That sort of thing──”

“Naïve. Shidou and I are 18 years old. From here on out it is adult time. I won’t behave
conspicuously as I did in high school. Or rather──”

Origami took out her smartphone with her left hand and displayed a picture there to Tohka.

“──Shidou and I are already married.”

It was a photograph of the two of them, with Shidou in a tuxedo and Origami wearing a wedding
dress.

“T-This is……!”

Staring at the photo displayed on the screen, Tohka widened her eyes. The other girls looking
from the side also had stunned looks.

“S-Shidou-san……?”

“What is this photo, Nushi-sama?”

“Question. Is what master Origami said true, Shidou?”

“No, that’s not true!? I just took a photo at a mock wedding hall. Origami, didn’t you say you
wouldn’t show that photo to everyone!?”

As everyone drew closer, Shidou raised his voice to a scream.

Then, Origami slightly shook her head and lowered her head down.

“I intended to do that, but things have changed. ──And this photo was secretly taken with my
camera. It’s different from the picture that Shidou told me to not show.”

“Aren’t you just splitting hairs at this point?”

As Shidou said that, Tohka turned to Origami with her cheeks puffed up.

“You aren’t married! Don’t say that at your own convenience!”

“It’s only a matter of time before it actually happens. During the year without you, Shidou and I
have been deepening our love by doing things that I can’t say here.”

“Wha, wha, wha……!”

Tohka looked at Shidou with her face bright red. Shidou quickly shook his head.

Looking at this, Tohka’s eyes flared up again.

“A-Another deception Origami!”

“I only said, ‘doing things’. So whatever you imagined is up to you. That is also an intense
responsibility given to the bride.”

“Ugugu……stop making an argument for an argument’s sake! Anyway! You haven’t changed at
all, Origami!”

“That’s my line.”

Tohka and Origami exchanged glares as strong as ever as a grinding sound was heard from their
hands clenching each other.

“………”

“………”

However, before long, Tohka burst into laughter as if not being able to hold it back any longer.

“……Fu. Still the same as ever, Origami.”

While saying that, she shrugged and laughed.

Seeing this, Origami also unintentionally laughed.

“You too. ──I’m glad to see you again.”

Origami returned to remark. The others girls gazed on as if seeing something unusual.

“Hey, am I dreaming? Oririn is laughing.”

“Kaka, isn’t that a nice look. It’s good to do the same as always.”

“……This should be a heartwarming sight, but for some reason I feel something hidden from
their usual behavior.”

As those words were said at their own leisure, Origami turned over there with a vacant
expression. Natsumi’s face turned pale as she hurried to look away.

Then, as if remembering something, Tohka turned to look around the area.

“By the way, where are Kurumi and Miku? I thought that they would be with you.”

“Ah, Kurumin is probably by herself. I sent her the reinforcements-needed email, but I was
turned down because she was busy. And Mikki is──”
While saying that, Nia operated her smartphone before showing it to Tohka.

A video of Miku singing and dancing on a gorgeous stage, wearing beautiful outfit was being
projected there.

“Ooh──this is!?”

Tohka stared at the video with her eyes wide open. Shidou picked up from where the explanation
had ended.

“Miku moved the base of her activities to the United States for a while. It seems that she growing
more and more popular there.”

“What…..!” That huge country America!? As expected of Miku!”

Tohka nodded as if convinced before sighing a little bit out of regret.

“But, I see. I wanted to see Miku if possible, but I guess I’ll have to wait for the next time she
comes back.”

Maria agreed in response to that.

“That’s right. You’ll have to wait for another 30 seconds.”

“Umu. ………..Mu?”

As Tohka couldn’t help but nod, she suddenly twisted her neck.

Then, exactly 30 seconds later, the door to the private room was open again.

“──Tohka-saaaaaaaaan! The world’s Izayoi Miku has come back overseas for you────!”

And so, the girl who was wearing a flashy stage costume choked on her tears and jumped to
embrace Tohka.

Suddenly, Tohka’s eyes turned to blank dots.

“M-Miku!? Aren’t you supposed to be in America!?”

“I won’t be absent on the day that Tohka-san comes back! I’ve finished my job for today and let
<Ratatoskr> go through the immigration procedures!”

While saying something that was at the limits of a grey moral area, Miku proudly raised up her
chest.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Maria, who could only say “no clue” and shrugged her shoulders.

“Ah, that’s right. There is a souvenir for Tohka-san!”

“Mu? Souvenir……?”

“Yes! I picked it up while on the way from the small Ratatoskr to here! Please come in!”

Miku beckoned to the door with a huge smile on her face.

Then, as everyone’s expectations floated to there, a girl wearing a monotone dress stepped
forward.

“Really, don’t call out to someone like they’re a cat.”

Glossy black hair and porcelain skin, her pair of eyes now had the same color pupils.

Looking on at that person, Tohka was shocked to see her.

“──Kurumi!?”

“Yes, it’s been a long time, Tohka-san.”

As Tohka called out her name, the girl that was once called the Worst Spirit──Tokisaki Kurumi
gently smiled in a manner ill-suited for her dangerous nickname.

Looking on at her, Nia pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.

“Hey, Kurumin you said that you were busy. I wish you could have helped with the manuscript if
you could come now.”

“I would ask for your forgiveness for not helping to wipe Nia-san’s ass, but if Tohka-san is here
then it’s a different story.”

Kurumi said while lowering her eyes.

Nia gave an overblown reaction by saying, “Really! Kurumin is terrible!” But then after seeing
everyone agree with her, she could only awkwardly shrug in return.

“Ah, sorry……I’ll meet the deadline from now on……”

And so, she replied with a voice that seemed about to fade away. Well, no one seemed to believe
those words.

“Haha……well, anyway.”

With a bitter smile, Shidou clapped his hands together to regain everyone’s attention.

“Now that everyone is together, we’ll tell Tohka. ──What has happen to us all during this past
year.”

After hearing those words, the girls all nodded in agreements.

Then Tohka looked around again and cleared her throat.

“Then, once more.”

Tohka continued on as her face burst open with a smile.

“──Everyone, I’m back!”

And so, in these close quarters Tohka’s welcome back party had begun.
The private room in this bar seemed a little cramped, but it also seemed desirable at this time.
This situation, where the lack of space made their shoulders collide against each other, was also
rather fun and unavoidable.

Everyone ordered drinks and gave a toast again.

After that it was already free time to talk at their leisure. Shidou and the others surrounded Tohka
and informed her of the topics that had happened in the past year one after the other.

“W-What! That Ellen is the homeroom teacher in charge of Kotori and the others!? And Tama-
chan and Kannazuki got married…..!?”

Tohka, who had heard this astonishing info, leaned forward with her eyes rounded. However,
they couldn’t help but empathize with this feeling. If Shidou or anyone else heard this, they
would likely give a similar response.

“Yup. It’s surprising. ──Ah, that Yamabuki confessed to Kishiwada from the other class on the
day of the graduation ceremony. It seems she safely got the okay.”

“Ooh……! Really! Ai did it!”

Tohka clenched her hand upon hearing what Shidou had said. Ai Yamabuki was a former
classmate of Shidou and a close friend of Tohka. Having time from time sought romantic
consolation from her; he thought it would best to convey the end results.

Incidentally, it was explained to their classmates that Tohka had to take a leave of absence due to
family reasons. If they had the chance next time, Shidou thought about taking Tohka to them.

“Ah, that’s right. Speaking of confessions, Mana was quite popular in junior high. She was
confessed ten times within a year.”

Then, Kotori said that while clapping her hands together. Tohka let out an “ho!” sound as her
eyes shinned with intrigue.

“Eh? Is that right? That’s my first time hearing that.”

As if to follow suit with Shidou saying that, Mana awkwardly scratched her cheeks.

“Hey, Kotori-san. Is this this really something to talk about now?”

“Why? Isn’t that amazing!?”

As Tohka innocently said that, Mana folded her arms together as if deeply troubled.

Then, Natsumi added on as a supplement.

“……Wasn’t it nine out of ten a confession from another girl?”

“I-I see……”

Shidou smiled with a mysterious sense of being convinced. ……As an older brother, Shidou
could say confidently that Mana had a fearless look, a slender figure, a nice personality, and
various other elements that girls would long for.

“But there was one boy, right?”

“It seemed that it was an elementary school boy.”

“Ah……”

“Mana is very stylish. So it can’t be helped that they would admire you.”

“Haha……well, I think that’s being praised.”

Mana shrugged with a bitter smile at Tohka’s words.

Perhaps remembering something else from this new topic, Kaguya raised her index finger.

“Oh, yeah that also surprised me a lot. Mii and Tonomachi seem to have started dating recently.”

“Wha……!? I-Is that so!? Then Mai is──”

Tohka opened her eyes in astonishment again. Then, in order to answer that question, Yuzuru
nodded.”

“Explanation. Ai, Mai, and Mii still hang out a lot. But when those two are on a date, Mai seems
hang out with a friend named Main she made at university.”

“Main!? Who is that!?”

Tohka looked confused after hearing a name she didn’t recognize.

Perhaps thinking that her reaction was amusing, Kaguya and Yuzuru both laughed at the same
time.

……Incidentally, it was Shidou’s first time hearing that name as well, so he was surprised just
like Tohka. Main, who on earth was that?

Regardless, the topics didn’t cease from there as the welcome back party continued on endlessly.
Mukuro had cut her hair. The family names for Yoshino and Natsumi were discovered. Kaguya
and Yuzuru remembered their past. Nia resumed interacting with her fellow manga artists. And
also they had encountered a Tohka from a parallel world.

No matter how much time passed, they couldn’t stop talking.

But that wasn’t surprising.

Everyone had a lot of things to talk about.

Tohka also had so many things to ask.

They carefully filled the blank period during that year; the time that had denied them the chance
to meet. Shidou, everyone, they all shared their experiences with Tohka.

──And so, how much time had passed?

As Yoshino and Mukuro started to rub their eyes as if a little sleepy, Nia clapped her hands
together to gather everyone’s attention.

“Yes, yes, attention everyone. It’s about to time to pay the bill.”

Everyone stopped talking and glanced at the clock. When thinking over how much time had
passed under their noses, it turned out to be already 10 o’clock. Nia’s group could still be up, but
it was about time for the high school group to head home now.

“Mu, that’s right. I still haven’t talked enough yet, but everyone still has tomorrow──”

As Tohka spoke while nodding, Nia curved the edge of her lips into a grin.

“Hmm? What are you talking about? Who says we are done talking?”

“Mu……? What do you mean?”

“The night has just begun, right? It’s decided to move to boy’s house to have a second party! It
wouldn’t be a problem if Mukku-chin and the others fall asleep there! The death race won’t end
until the last person standing! An all-night drinking party is the privilege of university students!”

“O-Ooh……!?”

Tohka rounded her eyes with sweat dripping down her cheek upon hearing Nia’s proposal.
Shidou bitterly smiled at this sight.

“An all-nighter may be overkill, but well it’s still a good opportunity. It’s no problem for us.
Right, Kotori?”
“Yes. But don’t forget to brush your teeth when going to bed.”

While saying that, Kotori closed an eye. As this was being decided upon, Maria looked at Nia as
if saying, “Or rather, it’s very brazen to frame yourself with the mentality of a university
student.”

“If all-nighters are the privilege of university students, isn’t a manga artist that stays up all night
a university student in a sense?”

Nia gave those air quotes and shifted her glasses while giving her argument. Maria could only
sigh and half-close her eyes.

“Well, if it’s decided then so be it. Then, please hurry up and pay!”

Nia cheerfully called on a clerk to begin their checkout. Shidou and the others waited for that to
be done before leaving the store.

Incidentally, Nia generously said, ‘today it’s on me”, but she seemed to have left her wallet at
home and had to borrow money from Kotori and Maria with tears in her eyes.

“──Huh, it’s already pitch black.”

A small whisper heard while looking up at the night sky. The stars were sparsely shinning under
a sky illuminated by city lights.

“Umu, then let’s go then.”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

“Oh, can I stop by the convenience store on the way? I want to buy some beer.”

“You still want to drink, Nia-san……”

While exchanging such conversations, they walked on the road to the Itsuka residence.

From the main street lined with restaurants, as they approached the residential area the lights
gradually diminished as the sounds of insects chirping gradually grew louder.

And, on the way there──

“──By the way.”

Origami raised her voice as if remembering something.

“What will Tohka do from now on?”

“Mu, aren’t we going to Shidou’s house?”

Tohka twisted her neck while being confused. Origami gave a brief “that’s not it” as a reply.

“Your career path from here on out. Tohka must have been treated with taking a leave of absence
from high school.”

“Ah……”

After being told that, Shidou scratched his cheek. The other girls also gave a similar response.

“That’s true. If going back to how things were, it would mean returning to the third year of high
school──”

“Concern. It would be lonely if not knowing anyone in that age group.”

“Mun. Then would it mean becoming a first year student with Muku and the others?”

“Being in high school with Tohka-san……that would be fun. But then Tohka-san would have to
start over……”

While saying that, the girls all made thought-provoking gestures.

Then, Nia raised her hand while saying “Yes, right here!”

“If you are at a loss over what to do, how about getting a job being my meal assistant and
model!? Would you like a high salary?”

Everyone sweated at the sudden solicitation.

However, as if inspired by this, Miku and Kurumi also raised their voices.

“Huuh! That’s too sly! Then come over to America with me! With Tohka-san, I think we can
capture the hearts of the entire world as a duo! As for English, it’s the policy of the Realizer
Manifestation Device to do something about handling that!”

“Ara, ara. Then why don’t you come to me? An existence revived by the will of the
world……ufufu, there’s no amount of interest that would become exhausted.”

“M-Muu……?”

Tohka, having received a passionate love call from three different directions, backed off as if
confused.

Then, Kotori flicked Nia, Miku, and Kurumi’s heads in that order.
“Hey, it’s troubling for Tohka if you put her on the spot like that.”

Then, she lightly cleared her throat before returning to Tohka.

“Certainly, this is something to think about. But the most important thing is what Tohka hopes to
do. ──What do you want, Tohka? Even though the Spirit of Origin is gone, <Ratatoskr>’s
philosophy remains unchanged. I will work to fulfill your wishes as much as possible.”

“Muu, I……”

Tohka folded her arms together as if worried. Kotori continued on while lightly shrugging her
shoulders.

“Well, it’s not something you have to decide right now. Just keep it in the back of your mind.”

“Mu……that’s right. That’s──”

And at that moment.

Tohka, who was talking while walking at a slow pace, suddenly stopped her words and feet as
she approached the tree-lined avenue by the riverside.

“……? What’s wrong, Tohka-san?”

“No──”

Tohka narrowed her eyes at Yoshino’s question. Everyone else gave a curious look at her
demeanor.

“Ah──”

However, only one person, Shidou, was aware of the meaning behind Tohka’s expression.

Right. This row of cherry blossoms was a place of memories that had been visited before by
Tohka and Shidou, along with the other Tohka, Tenka.

A few days ago, it was also the fateful spot where Shidou and Tohka reunited.

However, the same scene from that time was no longer standing right in front of Shidou
anymore.

Not to mention the different time period, there were almost no flowers left on the cherry
blossoms lined up on both sides of the road.

The time when cherry blossoms could be seen was very limited. In just a few days, that was
more than enough time for the remaining petals to fall.
Tohka exhaled with deep emotion as she continued.

“This is the row of cherry blossoms. In springtime, it becomes a stunning view. Muu…..from
what I’ve seen so far, it’s enough to compete for the number one or two spot. “

“Ah, that’s right.”

“But it looks like they’ve already scattered. That’s regrettable.”

“Mu……I’m sorry. If I had come back a few days earlier, I would have been able to show this to
everyone.”

“Tohka……”

Tohka, who was a little disappointed, shook her head a little.

“What are you talking about? There are so many more opportunities to see it from now on. Next
year, the year after that, if everyone comes to see it──”

Then, it was exactly at the moment Shidou had said that.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a gust of wind swirling around.

“Wow…..!?”

“Kya……”

“My eyes, my eyes!”

Everyone closed their eyes involuntarily as Nia a gave a slightly overblown reaction.

A few seconds later, after waiting for the wind to stop, Shidou slowly opened his eyes.

“That was quite the strong wind. Is everyone okay……”

However, his words unintentionally came to a halt there.

But that wasn’t surprising.

After all, in just the few seconds when Shidou closed his eyes, the scenery around him had
changed.

“Wha──”
The cherry blossom trees by the riverside, by this time when the petals should have scattered and
left behind only the branches and buds.

──It was in full bloom.

“Ha……uh, eh……!?”

“Ara, ara──”

“Cherry blossoms……? W-What is going on?”

Looking up at the beautiful cherry blossoms at nighttime illuminated by the moonlight and
streetlight, the girls’ faces all were marked by sheer astonishment.

It should be like that. The flowers that had just been completely scattered until a moment ago had
suddenly been revived. Yoshino and Mukuro pinched their cheeks, thinking that they were
dreaming. Nia rubbed her eyes wondering if she was still drunk before reconfirming from
everyone else’s reactions.

“──Ooh──”

Meanwhile, only Tohka was running to the row of cherry blossoms with her eyes wide open.

Then to match that, the wind blew again to evoke a cherry blossom blizzard. A cherry blossom
colored curtain shimmered in the darkness.

The scene was no joke. It was beautiful to the point of being dizzying.

“Look here everyone! It’s beautiful!”

Tohka danced around the cherry blossoms with a huge smile on her face.

While confused at first, the girls all ran to the tree-lined road one by one, throwing themselves
into the storm of falling cherry blossoms.

“Uooo! Charging through!”

“Competition. I won’t lose.”

“Ah, no fair. Me too!”

“……Haha.”

While looking at this fantastic sight, Shidou felt a laugh leak out from his throat.
It was a completely mysterious phenomenon. Now that the Spirit of Origin has disappeared from
this world, it would be impossible to create such a landscape without using a large scale Realizer
Manifestation Device.

It was an unusual sight that could only be called a mysterious phenomenon.

However, for Shidou, it looked like a gentle miracle to bless Tohka.

Right. It was just as if──

The world itself was welcoming Tohka’s return.

“──Shidou! Kotori! I’ve decided!”

With the reddish-pink veil still covering her, Tohka yelled towards Shidou and Kotori who were
standing by the entrance of the tree-lined road. After exchanging glances with Kotori, Shidou
turned to over there.

“What did you decide?”

“It’s my path! My mind is finally made up! No……surely the world is intending me to do this
once more! It’s been decided since the moment I met Shidou here! I──”

And so, Tohka──

Expressing a smile filled with laughter, she voiced her choice.

A few days later.

As if that night’s full bloom was just a dream, the cherry blossom trees lined up by the river were
now predominantly in a green hue.

In such a tree-lined route where the scenery had completely changed──

“──Hey, if you don’t hurry, you’ll be late. Today is your first day at university.”

“Mu, sorry. But I wonder if this is a problem for people that have eaten a delicious
breakfast……? Walleye pollack roe goes too well with kujo leeks and sesame oil. It would be
impossible for me to say no to such a companion for the meal……”

“Hey, hey, then do you still want that tomorrow?”

“Wha, t-that’s……!”

“……I’m joking. Don’t look like it’s the end of the world.”

While sharing a lively conversation, the two university students were walking together.
Afterword

Long time no see everyone, I am Tachibana Kōshi. The collection of short stories has finally
reached the double digits. This time, Date A Live Encore 10 is released. What do you think? I’ll
be overjoyed if you enjoyed it.

On the cover is Mukuro as previously announced. Although I was somewhat at a loss of the
illustrations after the haircut, but there are still lots of stories written before the haircut. Including
the main cover can be said for twice the fun of the book.

The newly drawn illustration was done with the image of the everyday life after 22 volumes.
You are! College Student version of me! Without a doubt, this is like glancing at a princess
circle.

Speaking of Kurumi, the anime of Date A Fragment has finally been released! The script was
written by Higashide-san. A work finished with the efforts of countless people, so please be sure
to give it a watch!

Next, I’ll procced to the commentary of each story. There will be spoilers, so please be careful.

○Kurumi Friend

The concept of this story takes place in the story of Volume 20, Tenka’s world. The ideal world
where everything is perfect. What Kurumi dreamt of in that world is that of her best friend──the
presence of Yamauchi Sawa.

I’ve always wanted to write Sawa’s story at least once, so I’m glad to have been able to write
this. Although its placed first due to the chronology of Dragon Magazine, in terms of time the
story should take place after Spirit Werewolf.

○Tohka President

What happens if Tohka became a president? A story born from the whimsical remarks of the
person-in-charge. Although at first it would be difficult to write, it came together surprisingly
smoothly.

I especially like the Mafia leader look with the sunglasses and coat. I also like the management’s
autobiographical naming sense of ‘Yatogami Tohka, Huge Kinako’. Incidentally, what I had in
mind while writing this was Kochikame, when Ryotsu tried to start a business.

○Mana Again
A story about Mana reunited with her old best friend. Astute readers may have noticed in volume
18 that Mana’s good friend, Homura Haruka, would later become Kotori’s mother, Itsuka
Haruka. Tatsuo sempai is also her father. Since Itsuka Parents was republished in Dragon
Magazine, I wanted them to reappear and have the opportunity to reunite with Mana. This is the
story of that.

○Spirit Camping

I want to see the Spirits’ graduation trip! This story began with that idea. But since we’ve already
been to the snow-capped mountains and an uninhabited island, when it comes to where to go
only camping is left.

I liked the illustration of everyone having fun together. I would have liked each person to have
been working alone, but the number of people present would have exhausted the length for a
short story. So, I decided on team battles. Origami and Natsumi’s technical skills have no limit.

○Spirit Werewolf

The second day of camping! But the weather is rainy so it ended up being a game of werewolf.

I wonder if it would be interesting to write a werewolf game in a novel, but once the jobs were
set, the rest came smoothly organized in accordance to the personalities of each character.
Rather, the job titles may have been the most difficult part. The wolf illustration was also very
cute. Even though demon fox is a very difficult role to play, it feels great to win with this, so
please give it a try.

○Tohka After

A story set after Volume 22 of the main story. The time frame is different from the other stories
as this is the only one set in the real world.

Although I felt there was nothing more to write after the Volume 22 ending, I still have a bit of
wanting to see the story afterwards. So, this is a short story about everyone’s life after Volume
22. Being able to write this type of story is an advantage of a compilation series. Tohka and
everyone’s reunion and the way Tohka moves forward. Good luck to everyone’s future.

……At this point, the atmosphere has become as if Encore is also ushering in a final volume, but
in reality, it will continue for a bit longer.

Who will be on the cover of Encore 11!? Please look forward to it next volume!

July 2020 Tachibana Kōshi