Handover

The vision blossoming in the boy’s eyes was something the girl had once dreamed of, something she had yearned for.

“What salvation can there be when life itself is gone?”

“How can one continue when faith is lost?”

“Life is the very foundation of everything.”

“Yet, only conviction allows one to persevere.”

Yisha’s hand trembled. She knew she could no longer sway the boy. One could never predict the actions of someone so fiercely dedicated to their beliefs.

Whether it was her, or him, or even another her, it was all the same.

“Please, next time, make sure you are safe before trying to rescue others.”

Yisha sighed, turning slightly to place her hand out of Shido’s line of sight.

“I will try my best.”

The boy understood that she was concerned for his safety, leaving him no room to refuse.

“Not ‘try,’ but ‘must.’ You have to do it. Promise me, okay?”

Yisha stepped forward, cupping Shido’s face in her hands, her gaze fixed intently on his eyes.

“I’ll… I’ll strive for it.”

The boy didn’t give a definitive promise. She understood his uncertainty about his future actions, but this matter affected her and even the entire world. Therefore, she had to approach it from a different angle.

“I certainly hope so.”

The girl lowered her hands and departed the alley. Shido, rubbing his head, followed Yisha out.

‘Okay, that’s everything completed.’

Inside a shop, the white-haired girl placed the unconscious girl into a wardrobe, ensuring she wouldn’t awaken anytime soon. She closed the door and headed towards the main hall.

This was a restaurant, and judging by its location, prices, and taste, it was destined to be where Shido would dine!

And she had just finished clearing all the traps within.

Gazing at the cake she had discarded into the trash can, Origami’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘As expected, that woman is nothing but a b*tch, her mind filled only with seducing Shido, then seducing him again, and finally seducing him! I absolutely won’t allow it!!’

Clad in a restaurant waitress uniform, Origami felt certain she could perfectly accomplish this mission!

Of course, in the end, she would be the only one to enjoy Shido’s virginity!!!

The girl paced restlessly in the kitchen, her gaze sweeping over the prepared dishes countless times. Yet, what she sought was nowhere to be found.

‘Where’s my cake?!!!’

Yina was in despair. She had knocked out the chef and snuck into the kitchen solely to add a little catalyst to Yisha’s date. However, due to the booming business, Yina had pushed herself to the limit, painstakingly baking that single cake in fragmented moments.

But now it was gone!!!

‘My sister will be here soon. By habit, there’s a high chance this restaurant will be chosen. I must get it done before then!’

With her mind made up, the girl returned to the ingredients section to restart her dish. She had to complete everything before Yisha arrived; this was her duty as a younger sister!

Five minutes later, the boy and girl arrived together at a restaurant named ‘My Darling.’ While Yisha would typically have politely declined based on the name alone, it was the only eatery in the vicinity!

“Shido, how about we have lunch here?”

Considering the Spirit’s wishes, and feeling hungry himself, Shido agreed to Yisha’s proposal.

He pushed open the door, only for…

“My darling, welcome back!”

Slam!

Yisha slammed the door shut without hesitation. She now understood the true meaning of ‘My Darling.’

“Yisha, what’s wrong?”

“See for yourself.”

The girl stepped aside, allowing Shido to open the door.

“It’s just a restaurant, isn’t it? What’s the big deal—”

“My darling…”

Slam!

Closing the door even faster than Yisha, Shido rubbed his eyes, attempting to compose himself.

He remembered now. This was a themed restaurant, potentially changing its theme daily, with the signboard changing to match. The current ‘My Darling’ theme had simply slipped his mind.

“So, what do you say?”

“What else can we say? The nearest alternative is a kilometer away, and I’m certainly not in the mood to walk another kilometer right now. Besides…”

Yisha paused, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the direct sunlight.

“It’s too hot.”

Hearing this, Shido had no choice but to reopen the door and step inside.

The girl greeted the guests, leading them to the spot she had reserved.

“What would the two guests like to eat?”

Her azure eyes flitted between the two. From the looks of it, this woman’s intentions were entirely one-sided.

Yisha and Shido sat opposite each other. Unlike Shido’s relaxed demeanor, Yisha kept her attention fixed on the menu.

“One omurice, one orange juice.”

“Hmm~ One… one plate of rice, a small portion of Kung Pao chicken, and… lemon juice to go.”

The girl noted down their orders and then departed.

After handing the menu to the chef, the girl went to prepare their drinks. Other patrons would, of course, be attended to by other waitstaff.

‘Shido, I won’t let you go.’

Scanning her surroundings to confirm no one was watching, the girl subtly produced a pink sachet from her sleeve. Feigning nonchalance, she sprinkled its contents into the glass designated for orange juice.

‘Oh, ho, as expected. Only Sister would likely order this dish.’

Yina gazed playfully at the familiar dish on the menu, then slipped her fingers into her pocket. When they emerged, they held a small bag containing an unknown white powder.

‘While it’s surprising she didn’t order cake, it’s a good thing I came thoroughly prepared.’

Chef Shimazaki Yina immersed herself in her work once more. This time, however, she had added a special ingredient to the dish.

Before the food arrived, Yisha was lost in thought, gazing out at the world beyond the window. Opposite her, Shido was observing the girl.

Her short, ear-length black hair was sharp and neat. Her sculpted nose and cherry-pink lips, combined with the contours of her face, exuded an aura of silent authority. Yet, her light chestnut eyes softened the queen-like dominance, making her appear like an ordinary girl.

“Yisha, may I ask you a few questions?”

The girl turned to face the boy, furrowing her brow slightly, then nodded.

“Why are you collaborating with Itsuka Kotori? Is there something you need?”

“Yes.”

Yisha nodded forthrightly.

“Then why would you pay such a high price for this cooperation? Even if—”

“Even if you wouldn’t need to pay a price, you’d still help me, simply because I’m a Spirit?”

Without giving the boy a chance to continue, Yisha interrupted him, articulating the very words he was about to speak.

“There’s no particular reason. I simply don’t wish to owe you anything.”

“But, given the circumstances, is it truly worth it?”

Shido had learned some details of the transaction between Yisha and the very next day. After all, the matter of the airship involved far too much.

Yisha brushed her hair behind her ear, met Shido’s gaze directly, and parted her crimson lips.

“I don’t trust you. You might not need to save Spirits, but you do need benefits. You can abandon Spirits, abandon your initial intentions, abandon your true selves at any time. However, you cannot abandon the benefits I bring you at any time. So, do you think it’s worth it?”

Shido fell silent. He didn’t know; he couldn’t provide an answer. Though Yisha’s words were hurtful, he couldn’t deny their truth.

“You don’t know your own answer. For me, it can be said to be worth it, or not worth it.”

Yisha picked up the lemon juice the waitress had served earlier and took a sip.

The icy tartness exploding in her mouth cleared her mind somewhat. Seeing that Shido had no intention of asking further questions, she once again looked out the window, pondering the issue that had bothered her for a while.

The two maintained this state until their food was served.

Yisha picked up her spoon, ready to eat, and Shido did the same. Just as her spoon was about to touch the rice, she suddenly felt that something was amiss.

‘It’s a bit quiet? No, have all the other customers left?’

Yisha glanced around. The vast restaurant was now empty save for her, Shido, and the waitress. The welcoming team from before was gone… No, the chef was still there.

Hearing the sounds of cooking from the back kitchen, Yisha adjusted the headcount upwards, but the number still felt wrong.

Raising her hand to signal the waitress over, Yisha continued to scan her surroundings.

“Honored guest, is there something wrong?”

“Are you closing soon?”

“Are you worried about not finishing your meal? Thank you for your understanding. We uphold the principle of customer first, so you needn’t worry about that.”

The waitress’s reply was highly standardized, and Yisha couldn’t detect any immediate issues. However, Yisha’s attention shifted from her surroundings back to the waitress herself.

“Are you a high school student, working part-time?”

“Yes, my family is quite poor, so I’m working to try and alleviate some of the burden.”

The girl offered a slight smile, indicating no issues. Then she turned away, but unlike her previous relaxed demeanor, her eyes now held only coldness and hostility.

“Yisha, what’s wrong?”

Shido was somewhat bewildered. No sooner had he asked than he saw Yisha’s lips move slightly, but the sound was too faint for him to hear.

“Nothing much. I just think we should leave. Oh, and please pack the food and drinks for takeout.”

Yisha smiled, simultaneously memorizing the waitress’s voice and appearance.

“Alright.”

Still utterly confused, Shido complied with Yisha’s wishes and left the restaurant.

The moment they stepped out, Yisha seized his hand and, without a word, broke into a run!

“Hah~ hah~ hah~, Yisha, what was that all about? Why did you… just run off without a word, hah?”

After a frantic ten-minute sprint, Shido’s stamina gave out. Yisha had no choice but to duck into an alley to hide.

Glancing back to confirm they weren’t being followed, Yisha retrieved the drinks and food from the plastic bag.

“You really need to exercise more. That wasn’t even very far, and I was pulling you, carrying the items myself, yet you couldn’t manage.”

Faced with the girl’s exasperated glare, the boy couldn’t retort, only lowering his head in acceptance.

“These things were tampered with. That’s why I ran.”

Yisha stared intently at the food and drinks, as if they were the most magnificent things in the world.

“Hm? Tampered with? What kind of problem?”

Shido was puzzled. Yisha answered his question with action.

She casually snatched a few rats from a dark corner nearby. After feeding them the orange juice, lemon juice, omurice, and Kung Pao chicken respectively, the answer unfolded right before Shido’s eyes.

The first rat engaged in an indescribable act with the second, while the second twitched uncontrollably, its pupils dilated as if in immense pain.

The third and fourth rats showed no issues when observed individually. However, when thrown together, the problems became glaring.

“What are they doing?”

Shido’s gaze was strange. The third and fourth rats, once together, would inevitably return to each other no matter how Yisha separated them, as if they were a married couple.

“As you can see, they’re inseparable, treating each other as lovers. Complex chemical compounds, poison, hormones, or hallucinogens? Regardless, all of these are problematic.”

Yisha provided her assessment, then looked at Shido, her bright eyes conveying a sense of bewildered surprise.

“What’s wrong with me?”

That kind of look made Shido extremely uncomfortable. He even began to wonder if he hadn’t tidied his appearance properly that morning, otherwise why would Yisha be staring at him so intently now?

Yisha scrutinized Shido repeatedly, confirming yet again that he was an utterly ordinary high school student, aside from his ability to seal Spirit powers, before she finally spoke.

“Someone is trying to obstruct my date with you, even going so far as to try to kill me and use aphrodisiacs to get to your body. Another wants me to become your lover or something similar. Do you have any impression of these types of people?”

“Uh, do I look like someone who would associate with them?”

Shido was about to retort, but the image of a certain girl flashed through his mind, instantly stifling his remaining words.

“It seems you do.”

Yisha quietly moved to the corner of the alley, preparing to catch her off guard.

‘Trying to kill me, just you wait!’

She closed her eyes. The approaching footsteps grew increasingly distinct and louder.

The corners of the girl’s lips curved upward uncontrollably. At this moment, she resembled a hunter about to capture its prey: quiet, cold, hidden in the shadows, patiently biding her time. No matter how much joy swelled within her, she made no other sound.

The sound grew louder and louder. The girl timed it perfectly, turning and throwing a punch.

From the feeling transmitted through her fist, she had struck the opponent’s abdomen.

“Hm!”

Accompanying the grunt of pain was a fierce gust of wind.

Yisha was intrigued by this person. Instead of retreating to buy time and buffer after being hit, they counterattacked. This was no ordinary individual.

She raised her hand to block the strike, then her right hand formed a fist and struck towards the opponent’s lower abdomen again. The other side was clearly trained as well; their first reaction was to create distance to prevent Yisha’s counterattack. Unfortunately, when Yisha blocked the hand chop, she had already pinched the nerve in their wrist, and the numbness prevented them from pulling away.

Left with no choice, they grasped Yisha’s right wrist with their other hand, attempting to use the same method to restrain the girl. However, Yisha transformed her punch into a palm strike mid-motion, hitting the incoming hand squarely and knocking it away before moving in for a close-range knee strike to the lower abdomen.

Hit twice consecutively in the lower abdomen, even a master couldn’t endure such an assault. Excruciating pain radiated from there, causing their legs to become somewhat unresponsive.

“Tsk!”

The girl’s left hand moved from the wrist to the upper arm, still firmly gripping the nerve, rendering it powerless. Her right hand, however, changed from its previous wide, sweeping motions, lightly descending towards its chest.

The opponent had already been hit twice in the abdomen. Coupled with their right hand being held and their left hand blocked, they had completely lost the ability to counterattack.

In other words, Yisha’s palm strike was absolutely unavoidable.

“Shido!”

“Sister!”

Different tones, different decibels, different appellations, yet the meaning within them was the same.

Yisha froze. Her right hand was now close enough to touch the opponent’s chest, waiting only for the force to be unleashed.

Releasing her grip, Yisha opened her eyes. To her slight surprise, the person who had fought her to a standstill was a white-haired, blue-eyed girl with a face as exquisite as a doll.