"Hmm... A Spirit capable of manipulating lightning strikes. Why can't I find her?"
Several days had passed. Inside the command room of the Ratatoskr airborne battleship, Itsuka Kotori was endlessly flipping through the data files on the monitor in front of her. With a Chupa Chups lollipop in her mouth, her round eyes were filled with frustration.
A Spirit's identification code was heavily tied to the Spirit's intrinsic characteristics. For ease of identification, the most prominent trait was usually used as their moniker.
For example, because Tohka appeared with a massive throne and her Astral Dress was incredibly gorgeous, she was designated as Princess. Yoshino was designated as Hermit because she disliked fighting and actively avoided human contact.
And then there was herself. Because of the massive fire she had caused five years ago... she was registered as Efreet.
"Could it be a Spirit that hasn't been registered yet...? No, the Yamai sisters saw her half a year ago. Judging by the frequency of spacequakes, it's impossible for this Spirit to have gone unnoticed by humanity. That must an lightning isn't her primary identifying trait... Ugh, I can't find anything."
It made sense. Kotori and the others had never directly seen the "Ryougi Spirit" the Yamai sisters spoke of. If they couldn't narrow it down by her abilities, then even though there weren't many known Spirits left, she couldn't just blindly guess.
It would be much more efficient to wait for the Yamai sisters to finish their physical exams and have them identify her from photos.
"Eh? What?! This is impossible!"
Just then, Vice Commander Kannazuki, who was standing next to her, suddenly let out an utterly heartbroken wail.
"What's wrong, Kannazuki?" Kotori asked, slightly confused.
Kannazuki was a forr ace of the AST. For an organization like Ratatoskr that prioritized peaceful thods, he was an incredibly rare, combat-oriented talent. Just recently, during their skirmish against DEM's airborne battleship, it was entirely thanks to his brilliant commanding skills that they achieved victory.
Right now, however, this handso man looked as if he had just witnessed the end of the world. With an expression of pure despair and tears of sorrow streaming down his face, he stared at his phone and wailed:
"My... My folder! The 'Commander's Favorite Love' folder, filled with the cute photos and videos of the Commander that I went through so much effort to secretly capture perfectly from every single angle! It's gone!"
(Yutsuki (Whistling innocent tune): "I know absolutely nothing~")
But above all else, the man was an absolute pervert.
Almost out of pure habit, Kotori snapped her fingers. Imdiately, two incredibly muscular, macho crew mbers grabbed Kannazuki by both arms and began dragging him out of the command room.
"Ah! Commander, have rcy! The reformatory! Anything but the physical labor reformatory! Please spare ! Commanderrrrrr—!"
And just like that, Kannazuki's wailing gradually faded into the distance.
"Serves him right!" "Pervert! How dare he secretly photograph our beloved Commander!" "That bastard tried to defile the Commander! He deserves death a thousand tis over!" "Kannazuki, you disloyal jerk! You had such good stuff and didn't even share it with us!"
Although that last comnt was a bit questionable, from the crew's complaints, it was obvious just how deeply respected Kotori was—and how utterly despised our dear Vice Commander was.
(Kannazuki (Smirking): "The path to pursuing the truth is often a lonely one.")
"..." Kotori stared silently at the phone Kannazuki had dropped on the floor. Then, as if suddenly realizing sothing, she slamd her hands onto the console and issued a stern order to her crew.
"Everyone, check the activity logs for Kannazuki's ID account over the past few days. Tell the mont you find sothing."
"Commander?"
"There's sothing bothering . Hurry up!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
With the entire crew springing into action, an activity investigation report was quickly compiled. Kotori discovered that a week ago, Kannazuki's account had been used to download so data from Ratatoskr's mainfra. Because the files weren't highly classified, it hadn't triggered any major alarms.
However, during that specific ti, Kannazuki had a perfect alibi. As for what he was doing... well, you just saw it.
"We've been hacked!"
Kotori's expression turned incredibly grim. Ratatoskr possessed technological capabilities that were easily top-tier in this world. They could even repel intrusions from DEM Industries' AI. For soone to steal data from the Fraxinus right under her nose, the perpetrator's hacking skills had to be world-class.
Wait a minute! There was a Spirit she had just seen whose identification code was very similar to that concept.
"Commander! I found the identification code of the Spirit suspected of using lightning!"
Just then, crew mber Nakatsugawa, known as the "Dinsion Breaker," suddenly reported.
"What is it?"
A commander's panic would lead to the crew's panic. To avoid that, Kotori temporarily set aside the hacking issue and asked, feigning calmness.
"Rank Level: S. Spirit Code Na: Hacker. One year ago, this Spirit's identification code was Thor."
"What did you say...?!!!"
Kotori instantly regretted not reading the file all the way to the end.
Wooooooooo—!
Right at that mont, the spatial quake alarm blared.
------perspective shift divider line--------
"Phew~ Thanks for the al! Today's dinner was incredibly delicious Shido!!"
Tohka leaned back in her chair, rubbing her completely flat stomach, a smile of absolute satisfaction on her face.
"Thank you for the al....."
A slightly timid voice chid in. Sounding like a delicate, adorable French doll, Yoshino thanked him politely.
"My, my~ That was truly delicious, Shido-san! With cooking skills like this, you'll definitely make an excellent bride soday!"
Unlike Yoshino's timidness, Yoshinon—the rabbit puppet on Yoshino's right hand—joked around without any restraint.
Although it looked like a ventriloquist act, Yoshinon was actually Yoshino's second personality, expressed through the puppet.
"Haha~! Please spare from that fate." Laughing dryly, Shido resud his dishwashing duties.
"I'm sorry..... Yoshinon is speaking nonsense again," Yoshino apologized.
"It's fine, I really don't mind."
"That's right! That's right! Shido should totally beco Yoshino's mmmph mmmph mmmph!"
Before Yoshinon could finish, a blushing Yoshino desperately covered the puppet's mouth... even though her vocal cords weren't actually there.
Watching this heartwarming scene, Shido smiled gently and turned back to his dishes.
Wooooooooo—!
Suddenly, the windows rattled slightly. A blaring siren echoed through the air, followed by a chanical warning broadcast, artificially spaced out for clarity.
(—This is not, a drill. This is not, a drill. Spacequake signal detected. A spacequake is expected, to occur. Informing all residents in the vicinity. Please evacuate to the nearest shelter, imdiately. Repeating—)
[Shido, the spatial quake alarm is sounding. Ti to get to work.]
"Eh? Wait! I haven't finished the dishes yet!"
[Why are you worried about sothing so trivial at a ti like this?! Hurry up and deploy!]
"Got it."
Hearing Kotori's urging through his earpiece, Shido quickly dried the soap off his hands, took off his apron, and walked out. Before leaving, he turned to Tohka, Yoshino, and Yoshinon to give them a heads-up.
"I have sothing to take care of, so I'm heading out. You guys hurry up and evacuate!"
"Is that so? Shido, be careful!"
"Please be careful, Shido-san."
"Do your best, Shido-san!"
Having a general understanding of what Shido was going to do, the two girls and the puppet cheered him on.
....
"Did the Spirit really land here?"
After being teleported by Ratatoskr, Shido found himself inside a massive, partially destroyed shopping mall. Because the spatial quake had severed the power lines, the interior was pitch black, forcing him to rely on moonlight to navigate.
[It seems so. Ever since the spacequake hit, the Spirit Wave reaction has remained stationary inside that building. The Spirit is definitely in there.] Kotori's voice ca through the earpiece. [This is a perfect opportunity. Just like with Tohka's situation, CR-Units aren't suited for indoor combat. With the Spirit inside the building, it'll be difficult for the AST to breach. Use this chance to make contact with the Spirit imdiately.]
"Looks like it..."
The floor of the building ravaged by spacequake was littered with rubble. One wrong step and he could easily trip. Shido had no choice but to pull out his flashlight and carefully make his way up the stairs.
[Shido, the Spirit is on the fifth floor, in the electronics section. Because it's pitch black, we haven't been able to confirm which Spirit it is yet. Be careful.]
"Understood."
Shido took the ergency stairwell up to the fifth floor and pushed open the heavy iron door.
Screeeeeeak—!
In the dead silence, the sound of tal scraping against tal as the door opened was exceptionally piercing. Shido walked into the room, sweeping his flashlight around, but he didn't see anyone who looked like a Spirit.
"There's no one here, Kotori. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
[Impossible. The Spirit Wave detector is showing a reading right at that location.]
Kotori retorted forcefully. With a sigh, Shido swept his flashlight around again, but there was still no sign of anyone.
"Is this ga freaking rigged?!!!!!!!!!"
Just as Shido was beginning to wonder if he was on the wrong floor, a furious, incredibly pissed-off roar suddenly echoed through the room.
Startled by the sudden shout, Shido nearly dropped his flashlight. Calming down and looking closer, he noticed a faint, glowing light coming from behind a checkout counter.
"It... It's not a ghost, right?" Shido swallowed hard.
[What are you getting scared for?! How could a ghost possibly appear here?! Hurry up and get over there!]
"I know, I know."
Subconsciously softening his footsteps, Shido slowly approached the counter. Hearing a strange click-click-click sound, he finally took a deep breath and peeked around the corner.
"Ah, um..." Shido was trying to co up with an opening line, but the mont he saw the girl in front of him, he was completely rendered speechless.
Wearing a pitch-black trench coat that covered her entire body, and underneath it, a girl's school uniform from an unknown school. The girl with flowing, silky brown hair was currently staring intently at a cashier's computer monitor, her amber eyes glued to the screen while her hand frantically clicked the mouse.
"Kotori... Are you sure she's actually a Spirit?" Shido whispered doubtfully into his earpiece.
[Uh... Probably.]
Even Kotori sounded incredibly unsure of herself.
To be honest, the girl's outfit felt totally out of place. While it wasn't exactly ordinary, compared to the fantastical, dazzling Astral Dresses worn by the Spirits he had t before, this girl's attire was exceptionally plain.
If it weren't for the fact that a spacequake had just occurred here, Shido would have assud she was a runaway rich girl. Honestly, considering the location, the girl in front of him looked exactly like a hardcore, shut-in otaku.
However, a Spirit was still a Spirit. Setting his peculiar feelings aside, Shido prepared to step forward and say hello.
"Hello..."
"Wait! This is the most crucial part, don't talk right now! I refuse to believe I'm going to get stumped by this!"
Before Shido could even finish, the girl swiftly cut him off.
For a mont, Shido had no idea what he was supposed to do.
[Shido, heads up. The options are out.]
Based on the detected fluctuations in the target's emotional values, the Fraxinus AI provided Shido with three possible actions to take.
① I have sothing far more important to talk to you about. — Forcefully change the subject.
② O-Oh, really? — Obediently wait.
③ Excuse , what are you doing? — Observe curiously without angering her.
"Everyone, choose!"
Following Kotori's order, the crew mbers made their choices, pressing the buttons on their consoles.
Soon, the main screen displayed the statistical results.
The most popular choice was — ③.
"③, huh... A relatively probing option," Kotori said, rubbing her chin.
Then, Kawagoe, also known as 'Bad Marriage' spoke up from the lower bridge. "Option ① is way too aggressive for a situation like this. Saying sothing like that to soone you're eting for the first ti will only cause resentnt."
Nakatsugawa, the "Dinsional Breaker," also voiced his opinion. "Option ② is too passive right now. The Spirit seems to have recovered from whatever she was doing, but I suspect she hasn't even fully registered Shido's presence yet. If he just stands there like an idiot, it'll probably be a direct Ga Over."
Kotori nodded in agreent. She opened the mic and spoke to Shido.
[Got it? Shido, go with Option ③.]
"Understood."
Shido cautiously approached the girl. After confirming she didn't show any signs of rejection, he feigned curiosity and asked, "E-Excuse , what are you do—"
Halfway through his sentence, Shido had moved into a position where he could clearly see the computer screen. And then, he froze like a statue.
No one could bla him, because everyone back on the Fraxinus froze as well.
[Good morning, Onii-chan! The weather is lovely today huh~!]
After a bright, refreshing CG image of a girl appeared, three dialogue options popped up on the computer screen. In the bottom right corner, a countdown tir was ticking away.
① [Good morning. I love you, Ririko.] — Lovingly hug little sister.
② [You're awake? Or rather, I subconsciously woke you up.] — Carry little sister to bed.
③ [Are you looking for a fight, idiot?!] — Grab the foot of the sister stepping on you. Execute an Achilles Tendon Hold.
What is going on? The Spirit I'm supposed to be conquering... is currently playing a dating sim?!
"Dammit! Options ① and ② both lead to Bad Ends! Are you telling the third option is the correct answer?!!!!"
Listening to the girl's anguished wail in front of the computer, Shido felt an overwhelming, soul-deep sense of déjà vu.
[Are you looking for a fight, idiot?!] I grabbed my sister's foot and executed an Achilles Tendon Hold—like this. But... [You're too naive!] My sister twisted her body, dodged my hands, slipped behind , wrapped her legs around my ankles, and executed a flawless Scorpion Deathlock. As a result, the protagonist beca paralyzed from the waist down due to the injuries sustained, spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. BAD END!
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
At that mont, the girl let out an agonizing scream of pure tornt.
"Hey, Kotori. Could this ga possibly be...?" Shido felt his face twitching uncontrollably.
"Yeah. It's probably that..." The expression on Kotori's face up in the airborne battleship wasn't looking much better than Shido's.
As the ending sequence played out, the ga returned to the main nu.
Accompanied by an upbeat pop song, beautiful girls with vibrant, colorful hair appeared on the screen one by one. And then, the title appeared:
Fall in Love, MY☆LITTLE☆SHIDO
Thud!
In that singular mont, Itsuka Shido and Itsuka Kotori displayed a profound, highly synchronized sibling connection: they both slamd their heads onto their respective desks!(tho shido's an imaginary one)
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