Epilogue

“Yisha, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

The young man bowed readily, offering his apology, which surprised Yisha somewhat.

“I also knocked you unconscious. My apologies.”

As if unwilling to accept a one-sided apology, the girl immediately replied.

Shido looked up, his gaze falling upon the girl. She had averted her head towards the window, seemingly out of shyness.

Her black, ear-length hair fell softly. Her lustrous brown pupils reflected the scenery outside.

Beneath her elegant nose, her cherry-blossom lips formed a delicate curve. At this moment, her peerless beauty was utterly captivating, like that of a celestial maiden.

Yisha gazed outside. Layers of white clouds obscured the ground, and the sun gilded this white canvas with a golden hue.

“What did you see?”

The sudden inquiry caught Shido off guard for a moment, but he quickly recounted the beautiful scene he had witnessed.

Although Yisha repeatedly urged Shido to elaborate, the image had been too stimulating for the modest Shido. Ultimately, all she could elicit was that he had seen ‘parts of her body… and that it was very beautiful.’

After Shido finished speaking, his cheeks flushed crimson like apples. Despite his profound embarrassment, it was the truth.

Upon hearing his reply, Yisha slowly closed her eyes.

‘So that’s it. It seems I made it in time.’

The heavy stone in her heart finally settled. Yisha opened her eyes and smiled at Shido.

“Well then, could I ask you to forget what just happened?”

Shido nodded rapidly in agreement. After all, having seen her body, he had no right to object.

“As compensation for your discretion, Shido, you may ask me one question. While I won’t reveal anything that must remain confidential, I will answer any other question you pose.”

“Eh?”

The young man looked at Yisha, his expression filled with surprise and bewilderment.

“Didn’t I say? I also made a mistake, so this counts as an equal exchange.”

The girl explained with a smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

What sounded like an ordinary statement, however, filled Shido with a sense of dejection.

“Just… a transaction?”

“What else could it be?”

The answer left Shido feeling powerless.

Indeed, he had done nothing for Yisha so far. Their ‘date’ was merely to fulfill the terms of cooperation signed with Ratatoskr.

Even in rescuing Spirits, they hadn’t arrived in time. Under such circumstances, what was he doing, hoping she would harbor goodwill toward him?

“Then, could you tell me how I can increase your favorability towards me?”

“Oh?”

In Yisha’s eyes was utter disbelief. She had considered many things, even why she might engage in battle with ‘it,’ but she had never anticipated such an absurd question as the final one.

“A good question. You ask to raise my favorability, then seal me? Setting aside the feasibility of sealing, even for Spirits…”

Yisha suddenly paused. Something had come to mind: a report from the Kanzaki family’s documents she had acquired earlier.

Her slender eyes narrowed slightly. What had previously been incomprehensible now seemed to have a breakthrough.

“Yisha, Yisha? Are you alright? Is your body still not recovered?”

Yisha’s sudden lapse into deep thought flustered Shido, who feared her injuries might be acting up again.

“Ah? Oh, my apologies. I was just thinking about something.”

The girl waved her hand, signaling that she was fine.

“Where were we just now? Oh, the Spirit question.”

Shido remained somewhat worried. Seeing Yisha’s unyielding demeanor, he decided it might be best not to press her about what had just happened.

“The Spirit question, are you referring to Tohka?”

“You’re half right. First, here’s a hint: there’s more than one Spirit, isn’t there?”

Shido nodded woodenly as Yisha continued.

“Second hint: your sealing requires reaching a certain level of favorability, doesn’t it?”

He nodded again.

“Third hint: since favorability is a subjective expression, it’s not impossible for it to drop below the sealing threshold in an instant. Any problems with that?”

He nodded once more. Yisha snapped her fingers, declaring loudly as if she had discovered a new continent.

“Then why would you think Tohka could calmly watch you flirt with other girls?”

He nodded… then Shido, suddenly realizing he shouldn’t continue, froze.

“Hey! Think about it. Tohka sees you flirting with other Spirits, and in an instant, her favorability towards you—the one who’s always chasing new things—plummets! Her Spirit power returns, and then it’s a scene of utter chaos. Why would you think this isn’t a problem? Or do you think it’s not a big deal? Or did you just not consider it?!”

Stunned into silence, Shido began to ponder the possibility of Yisha’s words. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at her.

“I’ll go discuss this with Kotori and the others. Thank you!”

He offered his thanks with utmost sincerity.

“Don’t mention it. Honestly, consider this your compensation.”

‘It’s also a form of future compensation for you.’

The girl silently added a phrase in her heart. Then, to prevent Shido from noticing the shift in topic, she immediately spoke.

“Returning to the matter of favorability, you can’t expect me to have enough goodwill to be sealed by someone I’ve only met fewer than three times, can you? Tohka is a special case. Setting aside love at first sight, most favorability develops through daily interactions or significant events.”

Yisha explained with genuine earnestness, and Shido’s serious expression made her sigh in relief.

“Simply put, I still consider you strangers—no, perhaps ‘acquaintances with a cooperative relationship’ would be more accurate now. If you want me to increase my favorability towards you, then genuinely reveal your true nature. If your essence aligns with my perception, my favorability will naturally rise. Otherwise, I can only say you might as well abandon the idea of sealing me.”

With that, the girl spread her hands, indicating she could offer no further assistance. Shido, meanwhile, seemed to grasp what the best strategy for Yisha would be.

“I will show you everything, Yisha! I will definitely seal you!”

The young man clenched his fists, his brows furrowed with determination. His resolute gaze fixed upon the girl sitting on the bed.

“I await that day.”

The girl maintained her polite smile, even clapping to encourage him.

“Well then, until next time. I wish to rest now.”

She issued her dismissal, watching him leave in silence.

Once Shido had left the room, the smile on Yisha’s face vanished without a trace.

“The safety of the Spirits, the error of conviction—you can deal with those headaches yourself.”

Yisha retrieved the tablet she kept on her bedside table. After unlocking it, the image of Nuwa appeared on the interface.

“Open the experiment logs. Find the report on yesterday’s Spatial Quake traction experiment.”

Soon, the record appeared on her tablet.

After a swift scan, she found the section she wanted, confirming her memory was accurate.

“[Hermit] Spirit Crystal acquisition failed. The Divine Engine’s operation still has issues and requires further processing.”

‘The target of the Divine Plan must be my Spirit Crystal, to find the Spirits it spawned…’

An answer subtly formed in Yisha’s mind. She hadn’t been able to view the most crucial part of the data, but just now, Nuwa had successfully decrypted the password.

With a slight movement of her finger, she opened the final document—the one titled “Causes and Principles of Spatial Quake Traction Experiment.”

Within moments, Yisha had the answers she sought. She suddenly found reality to be surreal, this series of dramatic shifts being among the most significant in her own life.

“Haha, so that’s it! No wonder they targeted other Spirits. No wonder I appeared there. No wonder Destruction offered no explanation for any of this. Haha, Hahahaha!!!!”

The girl laughed loudly, as if at others, yet also as if at herself.

“Well then, it’s time to consider countermeasures. Princess and Efreet… who will be next?”

The girl, who had seemed almost frenzied, calmed down once more, as if her earlier laughter had been nothing but a dream.

“I had thought getting close to the core of ‘its’ plan was a good thing. Now, it seems it was quite the opposite, a terrible move. Itsuka Shido…”

In her hands, the tablet displayed the data she had just viewed.

“Through research on ‘Material A,’ we have discovered that the composition of Spirits is remarkably similar to that of Divine Spirits. Considering that Divine Spirits are created through Spirit formulas, we have reason to believe that Spirits and the so-called Origin Spirit share a very close relationship.

According to intelligence provided by our partners, the Origin Spirit’s abilities are incomplete. The authorities held by Spirits are, in fact, the separated authorities of the original Spirit.

The core of Divine Spirits and regular Spirits differs. For the former, we utilize concepts. For the latter, preliminary investigations suggest they are related to negative emotions—negative emotions on par with concepts…

Spatial Quakes occur from the conflict when the Borderline and the Real World make contact. By applying a certain traction to the Borderline, the location of Spatial Quakes can be controlled within a specific range, provided a Spatial Quake originates within that range.

The plane where Divine Spirits reside has yet to be fully understood, but it might be a sub-plane similar to the Borderline. The probability of successful traction exists.”