Early morning arrived with the sunlight shining from the horizon. With the baptism of that first ray of light, people gradually woke up from their deep sleep.
"Zzz~... mhm~..." Naturally, Natsumi, currently inside the underground facility, was still lounging in her bed, sleeping soundly and sweetly.
Ring, ring, ring, ring—
"Ugh—" The uninvited guest interrupting her sleep began to ring constantly in her ear. Natsumi frowned slightly in her sleep and crawled out of bed with a bit of displeasure.
"Hah... the annoying morning is here again." The lingering drowsiness filled Natsumi's entire body with negative emotions.
Last night, after being forced to take a bath by Yutsuki, Natsumi lay back in bed. But seeing Yutsuki take out another ga and start playing, she couldn't hold back and ended up staying up late playing gas with Ryougi Yutsuki.
Natsumi vaguely rembered that after the other girl carried her back to bed and tucked her in, she went back to her seat and continued playing gas.
"But actually being woken up by an alarm clock today... that's a rare." Over the past few days, even though the girl always stayed up late after Natsumi fell asleep, she always managed to wake up before Natsumi and wake her up. Honestly, Natsumi once considered Yutsuki a monster who didn't need sleep.
With a confused look, Natsumi glanced around. The girl was nowhere to be seen in the room. Instead, a prepared breakfast was laid out on the dining table. A sticky note was pressed under the bowl and chopsticks.
[I had sothing I had to do, so I left early. I should be back in the afternoon. Lunch is in the fridge. (Note: Rember to brush your teeth and wash your face before eating.)]
...She really is a mom.
"Afternoon, huh..." Natsumi scratched her hair and let out a lazy sigh. She went to the bathroom and briefly washed up. After changing into casual clothes, she started eating.
"Delicious..." Taking a sip of the hot miso soup, the salmon and tamagoyaki with white rice were still intoxicatingly good. It was obvious the other person had started preparing it early in the morning.
"That girl is definitely going to die young..." With a bit of frustration, Natsumi muttered softly.
After finishing breakfast, Natsumi tossed the dishes into the sink, then slowly stretched.
"Alright, done eating. Next is playing gas. I haven't played the new dungeon I unlocked yesterday yet." Saying that, Natsumi flopped softly onto the bed, picked up her PS Vita, and started playing with great interest.
......
"This isn't right at allllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Natsumi suddenly threw the PS Vita onto the bed.
"What exactly is wrong with you, Natsumi? Finally waiting until your surveillance slacked off, why wasn't your first reaction to escape imdiately, but instead to play the map you didn't clear yesterday!!!!!" Rubbing her hair vigorously, she desperately questioned herself.
At first, she just picked it up to kill ti because she was bored waiting for a chance to escape. But in just two short days, she had gotten her priorities completely backward and beca hopelessly addicted to the ga.
"Could it be..." In a flash, a very terrifying possibility ca to Natsumi's mind.
Playing gas right in front of her on purpose -> Making her, who had nothing to do, curious about the ga -> Inviting her to play together -> Making her so addicted she forgets to escape -> Turning her into a hopeless shut-in, and then doing whatever they want with her.
What a terrifying plan.
Realizing she had unknowingly fallen into the enemy's trap, Natsumi couldn't help but feel a chill at Ryougi Yutsuki's insidious sche.
"I-I have to get out of here, quickly..."
[If you want to leave here, as long as you don't interfere with Shido's life anymore, I won't stop you. It's your freedom to go wherever you want. But if you want to stay here... I don't dislike having a family mber with the sa hobbies.]
Recalling the words the girl said to her yesterday, Natsumi's overworking brain cooled down as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it.
"...Am I... an idiot?" Dropping her shoulders and letting out a long sigh, Natsumi muttered with a bit of self-loathing.
Picking up the PS Vita from the bed and wiping off so invisible dust, Natsumi carefully put it away.
If it were yesterday, Natsumi might actually have twisted the other person's actions into malice and stubbornly stuck to that thought. But last night, after talking with Yutsuki, Natsumi already knew she wasn't the kind of person to co up with such a malicious idea.
Although she seed aloof and casual, she was more considerate and gentler than anyone else.
Thinking carefully, the reason she opposed Natsumi was simply to protect her family's reputation from being ruined by Natsumi's revenge.
And for soone like her, Yutsuki spent a full three days trying to interact and communicate with her.
Why did Yutsuki leave today? Did she finally get impatient? Or did she feel there was no room for communication and gave up?
Natsumi knew very well that this was the choice Yutsuki gave her.
Stay? Or leave?
If it were three days ago, Natsumi would probably have chosen the latter without any hesitation.
But she had to admit, just a little bit, just a tiny bit, Natsumi felt a yearning for what Yutsuki described—Shido's desire to let Spirits live peaceful lives.
"..."
After so thought, Natsumi still decided to leave.
Using Haniel's power, she created a hole in the bed, then turned a plushie into her own appearance and placed it over the hole. She then slipped under the bed, used her Angel to open a passage through the floor, and arrived outside the room.
Yutsuki just wanted to protect her family, and Shido was an idiot who saved people without thinking. Maybe there really were people in this world who gave to others without expecting anything in return. But that was only a minority. There were also many people who were genuinely angry and disgusted by Natsumi because of her pranks.
Furthermore, it seed very unreasonable for a massive organization to act purely for such an unprofitable goal.
In the end, whether it was Shido's thought of "letting Spirits live ordinary lives" or the organization Ratatoskr's philosophy of "saving Spirits," it was all just Yutsuki's side of the story. Although she didn't think Yutsuki was tricking her, Natsumi couldn't believe it so easily either.
So—
"Haniel." The mirror in her hand emitted a faint glow, enveloping Natsumi. A few monts later, Natsumi transford into a girl with her hair tied in twin-tails with black ribbons, wearing a crimson military uniform.
"...I have to confirm it myself." With a Chupa Chups lollipop created by Haniel in her mouth, Natsumi took a deep breath and muttered softly.
Honestly, Natsumi didn't dislike the life she spent with Yutsuki these past few days. If Itsuka Shido really hoped to let her live a normal person's life, she wasn't completely opposed to accepting it.
But if all of this was just sweet talk made up to deceive her, the mont it was revealed, she would probably fall into bottomless despair.
So, Natsumi had to use her own eyes to confirm everything Yutsuki said.
After silently cheering herself on, Natsumi, disguised as Itsuka Kotori, strolled through the corridors of the underground facility.
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