"So... talk. What exactly is going on?"
After returning ho, Shido saw Kotori wearing her black ribbons, looking at him with eyes that seed to see through everything.
Because Shido had said Origami was Devil, the monitor sent to Origami's side today had, unsurprisingly, recorded the scene of her encountering Kurumi and transforming.
Although finding out Devil's true identity was sothing to be grateful for, a new problem had appeared—
How did Shido know Origami was Devil?
There were already so many questions that Kotori could no longer avoid being suspicious.
"What I'm about to say next might sound very strange to you. But all of it is true. Are you willing to listen?"
After talking for a while, Shido chose not to keep the secret anymore.
He looked at Kotori, and Reine sitting beside Kotori, then said that.
"Of course."
Kotori's eyes lit up.
According to Shido, he and the girl nad Origami had originally known each other.
However, Origami had beco a Spirit, then inverted, and had begun destroying the city.
In order to stop all of that, Shido borrowed Kurumi's power to travel back in ti. He returned to five years ago and saved Origami's parents, causing the world to change.
But now, Origami still existed in this world as the Spirit Devil.
Around fifteen minutes passed.
Shido told Kotori and Reine about everything he had experienced.
"...And that's what happened."
"You changed the world? I see. That explains why Shido has been acting strange since yesterday."
Kotori nodded, showing that she could accept Shido's explanation.
Besides, she could not think of any reason her Onii-chan would lie to her.
Even so, there was still one question here—
Since Shido had already changed the world, why had Tobiichi Origami beco an inverted body, and why was she completely unaware of it herself?
"May I share my thoughts?"
Just as the two of them were stuck, unable to figure it out, Reine spoke.
"Mm, of course."
Kotori nodded.
"It's only a hypothesis, or rather, only my personal guess. After hearing Shin's story, a question ca to mind."
"A question? What question?"
Shido asked.
"Shin successfully changed the world, and then everyone forgot what happened in the original world... correct?"
"Yes. Only Kurumi and I know what happened in the original world."
"...That is exactly the point."
"What?"
Shido tilted his head. Reine raised one finger.
"Why do only Shin and Kurumi still rember the original world? Kurumi may possess those mories because of her own ability, but why does Shin rember what happened before?"
"Mm..."
Reine's words made Shido fall into thought.
Was it because he was the one who changed the world in the first place?
That explanation seed to make so sense.
But the current him should also be the him reconstructed by this new world, right?
Then why did he not rember this world's mories, and instead possess mories of the old world?
"Most likely, in order to retain mories of the original world, certain conditions must be t."
"Conditions... what kind of conditions?"
"I do not know the details. Since Kurumi is an exception, there are too few examples to analyze. But what if those conditions are 'having been hit by Kurumi's Twelfth Bullet' and 'possessing spirit power'?"
"Um..."
Shido looked at Kotori in confusion, while Kotori's eyes suddenly widened with an "Ah."
"That's right. If multiple conditions must be t—then the instant Tobiichi Origami received spirit power from Phantom, perhaps she rembered the events of the original world. And at the sa ti, she still retained this world's mories..."
Kotori explained to Shido.
"W-wait, Reine-san. In that case... is that inverted Origami actually 'the Origami who regained the original world's mories'?"
"I said before, this is only a hypothesis. It is rely a possibility. However... with this hypothesis, many things make sense."
"But Origami at school is normal. Or rather, she is definitely the Origami who possesses this world's mories."
"...We will need to ask Kurumi about the details.
Unlike Shin, who only retained mories of the original world from the beginning, Origami possesses the mories of this world. On top of that, the mories of the original world were forcibly poured into her mind... I doubt that would have a good effect on the host.
Could we consider that, in order to protect herself, the Origami who possesses this world's mories and the Origami who possesses the original world's mories were separated into two personalities?"
Reine continued:
"As for the key that awakens the original world's mories..."
"The existence of Spirits...?"
Kotori said while biting her Chupa Chups.
"Since she did not react to Tohka in the classroom, perhaps she only reacts to spirit power. If that is the case... manifesting even a limited Astral Dress in front of her would be extrely dangerous."
Reine nodded.
Origami had only transford when she saw Kurumi. And after killing Kurumi, she had imdiately returned to her original Origami self.
"Then that's really dangerous..."
Kotori muttered to herself, her expression very grim.
"Dangerous?"
Shido was confused.
Although the other party was the vicious inverted Spirit Devil, thinking about it the other way around, even though Origami possessed extrely powerful spirit power, as long as the special conditions were not t, she would not turn into a Spirit.
"Isn't it obvious? Speaking of which, Shido, what exactly happened with you today?"
Kotori suddenly questioned him angrily.
Aside from confirming that Tobiichi Origami was Devil, another major incident had happened today—
Mikoto's spirit power had flowed backward.
Mikoto, who almost never experienced spirit power backflow, had actually had such a situation at school. That was sothing Kotori had not expected at all.
Precisely because of that, tonight's "interrogation" of Shido had not included Mikoto.
Thinking about it now, although Mikoto's spirit power backflow had not been very serious, and unlike other Spirits, it would not produce explosions, freezing, storms, or anything like that—at most, it would make people feel the illusion of "Eh? The sun is out, so why did the sky suddenly turn cloudy?"—if Mikoto, while her spirit power was flowing backward, had been seen by Tobiichi Origami...
The terrifying Devil suddenly appearing above Raizen High School—
That picture was far too "beautiful". Kotori did not even want to think about it.
"Ugh..."
Hearing about Mikoto's spirit power backflow, Shido's expression beca even guiltier.
After thinking about it, he told the two of them everything that had happened at noon.
"Zaku—!" (TL: a gundam model)
As a result, the mont he finished speaking, Kotori landed a heavy punch in his stomach. Shido bent over and made a strange sound.
"Eh, a Zaku, huh. What an old model. Looks like your brain is so old it's rusted too, Shido. You actually said sothing worse than a cockroach. If I were the one you said that to, Shido, you would have already died ten thousand tis."
Kotori said angrily.
No matter what, saying sothing like that to a girl was far too much.
"Shin, that kind of conversation is absolutely a failing grade."
Reine also shook her head.
"What exactly is wrong with you? Even if you changed the world once, the Onii-chan I know wouldn't say sothing so cruel."
Kotori sighed.
"I have no excuse. I'll apologize to Yakumo-senpai however she wants... It's just... I don't know why, but when I face Senpai, my head always feels really confused..."
Shido sighed.
He had already regretted his words more than once.
"Confused... wait, let confirm sothing just to be safe—Shido, don't tell you lost your mories of Mikoto?"
Suddenly, as if she had thought of sothing, Kotori asked with a terrible expression.
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