“I won’t be fooled by you! Baka~ baka!”
“I’m not lying!” Shido retorted.
“…But, that…”
Tohka’s face twisted into an incredibly complex expression, though her tone had softened considerably.
“Hmph, while I don’t know what schemes you’re plotting, you are, nonetheless, the first human and Spirit to seriously speak with me… So, I shall use you to gather information about this world!”
With that, Tohka let out another soft hmph, turning her face away as her right hand instinctively went to her chin.
“Yes, that’s right! Information, information is crucial. I’m merely seeking to acquire knowledge.”
“Acquiring information, then?”
Qianye mused for a moment, then gave Shido a decisive pat on the back, nudging him forward.
“Ouch, what was that for?”
Shido winced from the sudden sting on his back, a result of Qianye’s unexpected attack.
“Nothing!” Qianye replied, feigning innocence. “Tohka wants information about this world, doesn’t she? You know it well, so you do it!”
After speaking, Qianye leaned in, whispering into Shido’s ear, “This is a golden opportunity; don’t miss it.”
“Is… is that so?”
Shido scratched his cheek, offering that as his reply.
‘All things considered, this initial contact seems to be a success!’
“You’re doing great, keep it up!” Kotori’s encouraging voice came through the earpiece.
“Ah, alright…”
Tohka then took a step, beginning to slowly explore the classroom.
“Shido!”
“Wh-what is it?”
Tohka continued to roam the classroom, listening intently to Shido’s answers.
“Tell me, what is this place? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
As she spoke, Tohka walked around, her fingers trailing over the desks that remained upright.
“This is a school classroom,” Shido answered.
“School? Classroom?” Tohka’s large, round eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
“A school is where students our age learn. We usually have classes in rooms like this, sitting in these seats—look!” Shido explained, demonstrating as he spoke.
“Really?” Tohka looked astonished. “There are over forty desks here. Do people really sit at all of them? It would take more than forty individuals to fill them.”
“No, it’s true!”
Shido scratched his head, elaborating, “Typically, a single class has at least forty students. Our school has three grades and over a dozen classes, adding up to several hundred people in total.”
“There are actually so many people?”
Tohka found it hard to believe. After all, the most humans she had ever encountered were the members of the AST; hundreds of people seemed like an astronomical number to her.
‘What’s so surprising about that? When I was in high school, each class had over sixty students, and there were sixteen classes per grade. Three grades combined meant almost three thousand people.’
Watching Tohka’s astonished expression, Qianye inwardly scoffed.
“Hey—Shido!” Tohka called his name. “If it’s possible, could I study with you in this classroom?”
“Of course!” Shido nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“Mm-hm!”
Tohka happily nodded, then turned her gaze towards Qianye.
“And what about you, Qianye? Can you also study with me here?”
“Well now~” Qianye scratched her cheek, finding herself truly at a loss for how to answer.
After all, Qianye had long since graduated from high school. Was she really expected to go through it all again?
Yet, gazing into Tohka’s large, innocent eyes, as pure as amethyst, Qianye found it genuinely difficult to refuse her.
“That’s hard to say, but if I have the time, I can be in the same classroom as you. I can’t promise anything else.”
Qianye ultimately opted for an ambiguous response.
“Wonderful!”
Tohka’s face lit up with joy, and in that very instant, her affection rating on the screen rose to a considerable value.
“Excellent, Shido!” Kotori’s voice praised him through the earpiece.
“Tohka’s affection rating is already above seventy. If you want to take things further, seize this chance to ask her out on a date!”
Then, at that precise moment, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
“Huh?”
A violent explosion abruptly rattled the entire school building.
“What’s happening?”
Shido immediately braced himself against the blackboard to maintain his balance.
“Shido, get down!” Kotori’s anxious voice screamed through the earpiece.
“Huh?”
“Never mind that, just hurry!”
Despite his utter confusion, Shido followed the instruction and dropped to the ground.
In the very next instant, a monstrous “clatter-clatter-clatter” echoed from outside, followed by countless bullets pouring into the classroom. All the glass windows shattered simultaneously, leaving various bullet marks on the adjacent wall, as if a gang war had erupted.
“Wh-what is this?”
“It appears the AST is no longer willing to wait,” Kotori’s voice explained. “They’re probably planning to use overwhelming firepower to force the Spirit out, or perhaps even destroy the school building to deprive them of shelter.”
“What?! How could they do something so reckless?”
“There’s a Magician Disaster Reconstruction Unit on standby outside right now, ready to repair all damage immediately. So, even if they destroy it once or twice, it won’t be an issue. That being said, this situation still exceeds my expectations; I didn’t think they’d resort to a full-scale assault.”
At that moment, Shido slowly raised his head.
Inside the classroom, two figures remained standing, impervious to both bullets and shattered glass.
One was Tohka, now displaying an expression utterly contrary to her demeanor with Shido—a pained, twisted look as she stared out through the broken windows.
In stark contrast, Qianye appeared completely unconcerned.
“Hmph, just as it was getting to the interesting part, someone had to interrupt.”
Ignoring the bullets that were stopped by an invisible barrier before they could reach her, Qianye casually brushed a strand of pink hair from her face.
Qianye was currently in her full Spirit Armor form. Lying on the ground and looking up, Shido could clearly see Qianye’s long, slender legs encased in stockings as dark as the night. Her delicate, exquisite feet, similarly adorned in black, were elegantly presented in magnificent, black, crystal-like high heels.
Coupled with her black, floor-length gown that trailed elegantly behind her, the crown-like horns atop her head, and the wings slowly unfurling from her back, Shido found himself involuntarily captivated by Qianye.
“Shido?”
Qianye suddenly turned, a smile gracing her lips.
“Do I look good?”
****
Clad in her CR-Unit, Origami gripped a massive Gatling gun, aimed at her target, and pulled the trigger, unleashing a torrent of firepower towards the school building.
Thanks to her Territory, Origami felt no recoil. Under the onslaught of a machine gun typically mounted on an armored vehicle, the school building’s walls gradually peeled away, revealing the interior.
“The Spirit has appeared, prepare… Huh, what is that…?” Ryouko Kusakabe’s astonished voice came through the earpiece, as their original plan was to use the machine gun fire to force Princess out, or at least destroy her shelter.
However, when the wall was breached and the interior situation was revealed to the team, it was a scenario no one had anticipated.
“Why is the succubus in there too?”
Indeed, the AST encountered an unprecedented situation: two Spirits had appeared in the same location simultaneously.
A single Spirit was already challenging to deal with; now they had to face two at once.
“…That’s…”
Origami’s eyes widened, not because of the unexpected Spirit, but because of the boy lying on the ground beside the two Spirits.
For that boy was Itsuka Shido, the boyfriend who had confessed his feelings and confirmed their relationship with her not long ago.