A subtly familiar ceiling—
Looking at the tallic walls that looked very sci-fi, unlike the ordinary white-painted walls of his own room, Shido rubbed his sleepy eyes and slowly sat up.
"Shido! You finally woke up!"
As soon as Shido woke up, Tohka, who was staking out beside him, called out in pleasant surprise. Instantly, everyone surrounded Shido.
"Kuku—Shido, have you finally escaped from the endless labyrinth of dreams?"
"Relief. It's great that Shido is okay."
"Darling, I was so worried~"
"My, my, sleeping for so long before waking up, Shido-kun really is a sleepyhead."
"Shido-san... it's great... that you're okay."
"Everyone... what happened?"
Still a bit groggy from sleep, Shido looked at everyone's relieved faces and shook his head sowhat confusedly. Shido realized he wasn't in his familiar bed right now, but in a sleep pod.
"What's wrong? Could it be that your body is fine, but the head part has a problem?"
Kotori looked at Shido sowhat uneasily.
Hearing Kotori's words, Shido gradually recalled what exactly had happened.
After being separated from everyone, Shido and Maria arrived alone at the core in the deepest part of the computer world. Subsequently, Maria had her remaining administrator permissions seized by Marina disguised as Yutsuki. Then Marina deployed her Astral Dress and launched crazy attacks against Shido and Maria.
In order to protect Maria, Shido bore all of Marina's attacks alone, and finally passed out due to severe injuries.
The mories ended here—
"What happened after that... is this the real world right now?"
Looking around, according to his impression, this was inside the Fraxinus airship. Due to the ti difference in the computer world, Shido now felt a very nostalgic feeling looking at it.
"Mhm... This is inside the airship, in the room where you logged into the computer world..." Reine slowly nodded and explained, "Not long after that... everyone was simultaneously forced logged out of the computer world. It's just that because the injuries… Shin sustained in the computer world were relatively severe... it's probably the body's self-protection... you didn't wake up imdiately upon returning to the real world either."
"How long did I sleep?"
"Not that long, just one hour. Geez, you always love being so reckless."
Saying that, Kotori sighed helplessly.
Haha—Shido laughed drily and scratched his head. Then he suddenly felt his own phone vibrating with a buzz in his pocket.
Who's calling? Shido took out his phone. The small screen flickered slightly, then projected a small white-haired girl wearing a white nun's habit.
"Maria? Are you okay."
Shido couldn't help but ask in pleasant surprise.
[Mhm, thanks to Shido's protection. My settings were also modified by Yutsuki. There's no danger of being formatted.]
Maria nodded gently and answered with a smile.
[When everyone left the computer world, I was also transferred to Shido's phone.]
"Is that so? That's great."
Hearing that Maria was safe and sound, Shido couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.
"Speaking of which... where are the others? Kurumi, Origami, and Yutsuki and the others?"
After looking at the personnel present, Shido couldn't help but ask puzzledly.
Co to think of it, he hadn't seen Marina's figure either.
The scene fell into a silence. Finally, Kotori slowly spoke.
"Kurumi was already completely gone when she woke up. Although Tobiichi Origami requested to stay and take care of Shido, because we can't let the AST stay here for too long, I told her I would let her know when Shido woke up and asked her to leave first. As for Yutsuki-nee..."
Looking at his little sister's hesitant appearance, a wave of unease spread in Shido's heart.
...
Subsequently, what Shido saw was Yutsuki lying fast asleep in the sleep apparatus like Sleeping Beauty.
"Yutsuki... what happened to her?"
Shido widened his eyes in disbelief.
"As you can see... she seems to still be in the computer world."
"B-But, haven't we all left the computer space? Isn't the problem solved?"
Shido asked puzzledly.
Reine slowly shook her head.
"No... although the system has recovered, the airship right now is still being proxy-calculated by Yutsuki's Ratziel, and the virus net in the computer world hasn't been dispelled either. Shin, Tohka, and the others were all force logged out by a special program."
Then, Reine told Shido the content of her final conversation with Yutsuki an hour ago.
"Self-destruct... then what happened to Yutsuki?"
Shido felt a weight as heavy as a boulder in his heart and asked worriedly.
"Currently, the computer world over there is inaccessible... so the detailed situation is hard to speculate. But if Yutsuki chose to retreat and leave back then... relying on her skills, protecting herself isn't a problem. But if she didn't... in the worst case, being impacted by the massive amount of data... could lead to personality collapse, becoming a vegetative state without consciousness... But since the Angel hasn't disappeared yet, there shouldn't be too big of a problem. It should be the sa as Shido... because the injuries sustained in reality placed a burden on her mind... so she passed out in the computer world over there."
Even though Reine reasoned like that, in reality, unless they actually saw Yutsuki wake up, no one could truly feel at ease in the truest sense.
Because they knew, that girl couldn't possibly abandon Marina and escape by herself.
After a mont of silence, Shido asked Reine.
"Reine-san, can I enter the computer space one more ti?"
"No... currently, while the virus net hasn't been canceled... logging in from the outside is impossible."
Reine shook her head, indicating denial.
"How could this be... is there no other way?"
Shido bit his lip unwillingly.
Then, Reine suddenly said again.
"However, there is a way to make Yutsuki log out herself."
—————————————————-
"I sohow feel... like I'm doing a very terrible thing."
Shido said sowhat hesitantly.
"We're already at this point, what are you standing there hesitating for, you cowardly brother who has the lust but not the guts."
Kotori, sucking on a lemon vinegar flavored Chupa Chups lollipop, said dissatisfiedly.
"Shin... don't worry. Yutsuki was wearing casual clothes when she deployed her partial Astral Dress... she won't turn stark naked because of a kiss..."
"No, Reine-san... that's not what I'm worried about..."
Shido said with a face not knowing whether to laugh or cry. But indeed, if she turned stark naked after kissing, then when Yutsuki woke up, she would probably kill him out of sha and anger.
Reine tilted her head and said.
"Or maybe... you're very looking forward to it in your heart?"
"No, no, no, no, no! I just think kissing soone without permission while they're asleep is a bit inappropriate."
Feeling the gazes from Kotori and Maria looking at him as if he were scum, Shido hurriedly shook his head to deny it.
The thod Reine proposed was indeed kissing. As long as he kissed Yutsuki, Yutsuki's Angel and partial Astral Dress would be sealed back into Shido's body again. At that ti, the virus net surrounding the computer space would naturally disappear. Then Reine could issue a command from the outside to teleport Yutsuki's consciousness back to the real world.
Although they had no choice, if Shido kissed soone in front of the other Spirits, it might make their emotions unstable. So Tohka and the others had already been persuaded to go to the living room. Except for Shido himself, only Reine, Kotori, and Maria were left here.
"Maria, when Shin kisses her, rember to take over the Fraxinus's managent imdiately, and then bring Yutsuki back."
[Understood. Leave it to .]
Maria on the screen nodded solemnly.
"Then... Shin."
"I know..."
Although kissing soone while they are unconscious is a very despicable act, the situation was special. Shido had already prepared himself to get beaten up by Yutsuki later.
Shido took a deep breath, bent down, and slowly approached Yutsuki's face.
Brown long hair smooth as silk, tender white skin that looked like it could break at a blow, long and slender eyelashes, and the girl's crystal-clear, soft pink cherry lips—all of these continuously magnified on Shido's retinas. Shido seed to be able to sll a faint elegant fragrance coming from Yutsuki.
"So beautiful..."
Shido thought sowhat absentmindedly. Normally, the girl's straightforward and casual personality always gave off a handso aura that didn't lose to the boys.
However, at this mont, Yutsuki looked like a beautifully described princess appearing in a fairy tale.
"What are you getting intoxicated on your own for? Hurry up and cleanly kiss the Princess awake, you idiot Shido."
[Umh—Shido, to actually zone out looking at Yutsuki's face at a ti like this.]
"Shin... although this can't be helped for a man in puberty... but please be a bit more serious..."
"I-I know..."
Shido hurriedly covered up with a red face.
No, dragging it out will only make him more nervous. This is not the ti to be swayed by personal emotions.
Finally making up his mind, Shido prepared to kiss her.
"Hm?Ratziel disappeared?And the virus net was also unsealed... Yutsuki has automatically logged out..."
Just a mont before he was about to kiss her, Reine's mutterings suddenly sounded in Shido's ear.
Before he could understand the aning of Reine's words, Shido's lips pressed against Yutsuki's.
And then, what Shido saw was Yutsuki, her face completely red, her eyes widened to the extre.
——————————————————
"Honey, it's great that you're okay too."
Miku hugged Yutsuki, saying with a worried face.
"Well... to repair the impact Marina's self-destruction had on the core, it unexpectedly took quite a bit of ti. Sorry for making you worry."
Seeing everyone worried about her, Yutsuki apologized guiltily.
"Well, your triumphant return is the best news for . But my comrade, your cheeks look like they were burned by Efreet's flas.Are you okay?"
Looking at Yutsuki's completely red cheeks right now, Kaguya asked sowhat concernedly.
"Ahem! I'm fine, just slightly tired."
Yutsuki gave a dry cough and answered evasively.
"Question. Now that you ntion it, Shido's face is also very red."
Yuzuru said with a puzzled face.
"N-Nothing..."
After taking a peek at Yutsuki, Shido awkwardly looked away.
Although Shido kissed Yutsuki out of concern. But looking at the result, Shido took advantage of a girl sleeping to kiss her. If the Prince kissed Snow White after she woke up, wouldn't that be sexual harassnt!? Shido's heart was full of guilt.
Well, as far as Yutsuki was concerned, it was just because it was too unexpected and she was a bit shy. Shido didn't an any harm, so she wasn't really angry. Rather, getting a morning kiss from the person she likes was a nice thing.
Though it would be even more perfect if it were Shiori.
"Are you two... okay?"
"Don't push yourselves too hard, Yutsuki-chan and Shido-kun both worked too hard~"
"Ugh... Shido, Yutsuki, if you're really not feeling well, go rest okay?. Although my stomach is already very hungry, I'll figure it out myself."
"...Don't worry, there are no problems."
"Speaking of which, Yutsuki... what happened to Marina?"
As if to ease the awkward atmosphere between Yutsuki and Shido at the mont, Reine asked.
"Ah... about that..."
Speaking of this, a bitter smile appeared on Yutsuki's face. She walked to the console and turned on the main screen.
"Alright, stop being shy, co out quickly."
On the large screen, Maria seed to be forcefully pulling sothing out from the corner of the screen.
[No, no, no—I did so many terrible things, I really don't have the face to co out.]
[It's fine, nobody is angry about what you did, Big Sister.]
[I care!]
Voices of conversation ca from the loudspeakers. Although the voices were the sa, the tone felt like two completely different people, making one feel like they were watching a ventriloquism act.
However, everyone had vaguely guessed who the person on the unseen end of the screen was.
Yutsuki sighed helplessly.
"Marina, no problem. Didn't we practice this several tis in the computer world?"
[Really?]
"I'll be with you, don't be afraid."
Yutsuki chuckled lightly and said gently.
[Ugh...]
Finally, the girl wearing a black nun's habit peeked her head out cautiously like a hamster, and walked to the center twisting and turning awkwardly.
[Um... I did a lot of terrible things to Shido, Maria, Yutsuki, and everyone before... I feel very sorry... Even though I know saying this is very shaless...]
The girl spoke sowhat haltingly. Finally, as if making up her mind, she bowed and apologized to Shido, Yutsuki, and everyone.
[My na is Arusu Marina! From now on—please take care of !]
Arusu Route — end
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