Thursday afternoon, December 28th.
"Hah~..."
Yutsuki let out a long yawn and covered her mouth. She turned off the TV, took the Blu-ray disc out of the player, and put it back in its box.
Before they parted ways yesterday, Nia kept her promise and lent Yutsuki the original manga and ani of Chrono Phantasma. Since it was the holidays and Yutsuki didn't have anything important to do, she finished the ani in her apartnt.
To put it simply, in Yutsuki's eyes, the ani was good, but not "amazing."
It was an old ani, after all. The art style was very different from current trends, which made it a bit hard to get used to. The plot was a classic masterpiece, but since so many later works had copied its ideas, it felt exciting but lacked any "divine twists" that could surprise her.
Furthermore, she was also following Kurauchi-sensei's new work. The quality of the new work was clearly much higher than this old project. After comparing them, Yutsuki could only give it a rating of "alright."
Of course, these weren't problems with the work itself. It was just that trends and audiences change over ti. It was like how she loved Captain *BEEP*asa and The Prince of *BEEP*nis as a kid, but if she watched them now, she would only find them full of things to nitpick.(TL:Captain Tsubasa and Prince of tennis)
Regardless, Chrono Phantasma was still worth watching. Otherwise, Yutsuki wouldn't have spent a whole night and most of the day finishing it. Even though it felt like a work from a past era, it was quite interesting. Nia's Silver Bullet was clearly influenced by it, so it made sense that this was the work that made her an otaku.
Yutsuki pulled back the curtains to let sunlight into the room. She stretched her stiff body.
"It's already this late..."
Yutsuki looked at the sky. Judging by the ti, Shido and Nia's date should be almost over.
Unlike last ti, Yutsuki didn't go along. On a date between a man and a woman, a third person is just an annoying obstacle no matter how much they try to stay quiet. She had only gone to Akihabara with them last ti because she saw Nia wasn't interested in Shido and wanted to help create a chance for a second date.
Similarly, she didn't help with Kotori's strategy to conquer Nia. Once she confird Nia wasn't a threat to Shido, she wouldn't interfere. Shido was the one who had to seal the Spirits, not her.
Even so, Yutsuki was still a bit curious.
"I wonder how it went... uh..."
Yutsuki took out her phone to check with Kotori. However, when she saw the mountain of missed texts and calls, her mouth twitched. She had a very bad feeling.
———————
"We are so sorry, Yutsuki!"
"I'm sorry, Yutsuki-nee! We ssed up!"
As soon as she arrived at the temporary command room on the Fraxinus, Yutsuki saw Kotori and Shido—the Itsuka siblings—performing a full dogeza toward her.
Yutsuki was instantly speechless.
"Uh... anyway, get up first. Explain what happened."
Shido and Kotori began to describe today's date.
Unlike the last outing, today's date was led by Shido. The team at Ratatoskr had spent the whole night planning the route. The locations and activities were all based on Nia's hobbies. Kotori even used special channels to get rare otaku collectibles so Shido could buy them for Nia.
Nia was very happy to receive the gifts, but her affection level didn't go up at all. Instead, she politely asked Shido to thank Kotori for her. This ant Kotori's plan was exposed from the very beginning, which made her very embarrassed.
"Well..."
Yutsuki smiled bitterly. Indeed, as long as Nia had the Angel Rasiel, Kotori's plans were completely visible to her. Setting aside whether she liked 3D or not, knowing a guy was only pursuing her based on soone else's orders would definitely prevent any real affection.
"Shido, did you not look at the hint I gave you?" Yutsuki asked in confusion.
Even though she didn't go with them, Yutsuki had given Shido a manga before she went back to her room yesterday. She hinted that there might be a clue inside for conquering Nia.
She didn't explain the clue clearly because she knew Nia knew everything they were doing. She hoped Shido would realize this himself.
"I... I read it... but I wasn't sure if I understood it right..." Shido answered awkwardly.
After Kotori's plan failed, Shido chose a good mont to use Yutsuki's advice. He took a line from the manga Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (which he read last night), adapted it, and said it to Nia.
—'I'm willing to help you grind for items, level up, do housework, and rush deadlines. I'm willing to be with you through anything. I won't disappoint you or make you cry. Most importantly—during Comiket, I'll be your booth staff.'
"Mhm... that sounds right...then strange..."
Hearing this, Yutsuki felt a bit frustrated. Shido hadn't misunderstood her, he actually did a good job. In her opinion, a confession like that should have been a "critical hit" for an otaku girl like Nia.
"Actually, Nia's affection level hit the maximum for a split second. Then, a second later, it dropped all the way back down," Kotori explained helplessly.
You can do that?! Yutsuki looked stunned.
According to them, Nia's reaction was like this:
...
"I—wait, wait, wait. That was close. I almost fell for it."
After Shido's confession, Nia almost nodded out of instinct. But she seed to realize sothing. She jumped back to create distance from Shido and muttered to herself with admiration.
"As expected of Biri-chan. That was a lethal move... BUT! You forgot one thing—Boy can't actually do any of those things! His 'level' is completely different from Nifuji's! I won't be fooled that easily!"
...
"So that's what happened..."
"Ugh, what a troubleso woman!" Yutsuki clutched her head.
But Nia was right. Shido had to take care of Tohka, Yoshino, and the other Spirits. He couldn't be with Nia twenty-four hours a day. Knowing this, if she heard those words from Shido, she would just think he was bragging and trying to trick her.
Next, as expected, Kotori and the others tried everything they could. They used every trick they had to win Nia over, but nothing worked. As the date was ending, Kotori, unwilling to give up, accepted the idea from the "Dinsion Breaker" Nakatsugawa. She had Shido cosplay as Nia's favorite character—Tokiya, the protagonist of Chrono Phantasma.
"It failed. I don't even need to hear the rest to know," Yutsuki said firmly.
"You're right... Shido got kicked out... Yutsuki-nee, do you know why Nia got so angry?" Kotori asked, admitting her failure with a bitter smile.
"Well... it's hard to explain if you aren't an otaku. Let give you an example. Imagine if one day, Kannazuki dressed up as Shido, ca up to you, and said, 'I have zero interest in Spirits or sisters. Those are all wrong. Only Philosophy♂ and n are my true ho'—"
"Wait! I can't let that comnt slide! From start to finish, my only wish is to be stepped on by the Commander's slender and beautiful legs—Oof!"
"Fine, if it were , I'd definitely beat him to death too... I guess my brain was just malfunctioning at the ti..."
Kotori punched the protesting Kannazuki to the floor and sighed helplessly.
Seeing that real-world thods weren't working, Kotori ca up with another plan. She sent Nia a communication app disguised as a PC ga. She had Shido play a character nad "Itsuki" to talk and date Nia through the ga to raise her affection.
Since Nia only liked 2D, having Shido act as a 2D character was a clever move. Yutsuki admitted it was a creative idea.
However, for this to work, Nia had to not have her omniscient Angel.
Halfway through the ga, Nia couldn't resist her curiosity and used Rasiel to check the ga's developer. Unsurprisingly, it led straight to Kotori.
If the affection level had reached the target and Shido had confessed and apologized himself, Nia might have kept that affection and forgiven them. But since Nia caught them in the act herself, the situation was completely different.
According to Kotori, Nia almost completely cut ties with Shido at that mont.
"This is really..."
For a mont, Yutsuki didn't know what to say. Shido and Kotori's thods were a bit extre, but they weren't necessarily "wrong." Nia's reaction seed unreasonable, but it was a normal reaction if you thought about it. If she had to use one word to describe it, it was a ss.
"So, what do you plan to do next? Don't tell you're giving up."
"Of course not."
Kotori shook her head. She had a Chupa Chups in her mouth and spoke with a competitive spirit.
"I just finished discussing it with Tohka and the others. Since Nia likes 2D, we will draw a manga with Shido as the protagonist. We'll show her that Shido is just as great as any manga hero. Also, I'll send people to find out why Nia likes 2D so much and look for clues to win her over."
Ring ring ring—
Just then, the landline phone on the conference table rang.
"That's... Nia's phone number."
Seeing the number on the screen, Shido and Yutsuki looked at each other and spoke at the sa ti.
"Well, with an omniscient Angel like Rasiel, it's not strange for her to know our encrypted phone line," Kotori muttered with a frown. After hesitating for a mont, she answered the call.
[—Hey, did it connect? Boy, Biri-chan?]
"Nia..."
Hearing Nia's voice, everyone's expressions turned serious.
[Honestly, I'm so disappointed! I sacrificed my precious reading ti to hang out with Boy, and in return, you guys defiled Tokiya and my pure feelings. Especially you, Biri-chan. I thought a fellow otaku would understand.]
"Uh... it wasn't my idea... why am I being blad?" Yutsuki whispered to herself. However, Nia didn't seem to hear her and continued.
[Whatever... it looks like you're planning to change your strategy. That's not bad, but there's a fatal flaw in your plan.]
"A flaw?" Shido looked confused.
[Yeah. Let's assu you can make a manga. But why should I have any obligation to read it?]
"—Ugh!"
It seed Shido had worried about this too. Being confronted by Nia left him speechless.
[Right? Don't let appearances fool you; I'm super busy. Clearing ti to date Boy was already a big favor to Biri-chan. Even when work is done, I have a mountain of books to read. I don't have ti to read so third-rate manga made by rank amateurs with impure motives. Why would I read a manga made by people who defiled Tokiya!?]
As she spoke, Nia's voice beca angry. It seed she was truly offended by Shido's actions earlier.
Just as Nia was about to hang up, Kotori interjected.
"Wait. You can't say that for sure. According to your logic, as long as a manga is valuable, you'll read it, right?"
[Oh?]
Nia's voice sounded surprised. Kotori continued.
"If the manga we make is better than yours in so way, wouldn't it be worth reading?"
[Haha! Fine, that's true. But what counts as 'interesting'? Everyone has their own opinion. Even if you say it's interesting, do you think I'll agree?]
"You're right. But on that point, there is an absolute standard that everyone can agree on."
[An absolute standard...?]
(I see...)
Hearing this, Yutsuki realized what Kotori was planning and let out a long sigh.
Sure enough, seeing Nia take the bait, Kotori smirked and spoke with a provocative tone.
"Yes. And that is—Sales numbers!"
[—!!?]
As if she had heard the world's biggest joke, Nia laughed hysterically. She replied with a disdainful tone.
[Hehe... Hahahahaha! Interesting. This is too interesting! You're saying you want to beat , Honjou Souji, using book sales? Are you serious?]
"Mhm, I am. If we win, you have to read it properly. Well? Do you accept?"
[...I understand.]
After a short silence, Nia replied with a calm and serious tone. For a professional manga artist to be challenged by a group of amateurs—if she refused, it would look like she was running away. That would be a joke.
[Since you've gone this far, I'll play along one more ti. This ti, I will defeat you completely.]
With that, Nia let out a cold laugh and hung up.
...
"Shido, when we were winning over Miku at the Tenou Festival, who was the one who scolded us for provoking her?"
"Reporting to Yutsuki, it was Kotori."
"I see. By the way, back when we solved Natsumi's puzzles, do you rember what I said about trying to win over a Spirit through a competition?"
"You said that the idea that winning a match or solving a puzzle would let you seal a Spirit should have been thrown away after the lesson with Miku. —That's what you said."
"I see. Then who was the person who just added fuel to the fire by provoking Nia when she was already furious?"
"...Aaaaaaaaaah! Fine! It was ! It was ! I admit I was impulsive, okay!?"
Listening to Yutsuki and Shido's indirect questioning, Kotori finally couldn't handle the pressure and shouted in desperation.
"Well... I'm not trying to bla you. It's just that, with your skills, Kotori-chan, you should have been able to handle that better," Yutsuki said with a bitter smile.
"Because... she said the manga we're going to draw is third-rate..." Kotori muttered as she turned her head away.
According to Kotori's plan, the manga they would show was a story about Shido saving the Spirits. To be exact, it was taking real-life experiences and putting them into a manga. Regardless of whether the finished product was good or bad, in Kotori's heart, her onii-chan was a hero who wasn't inferior to any manga protagonist.
Nia's words, if taken seriously, were a denial of Shido right in front of Kotori.
"Thank you, Kotori," Shido said gently as he stroked Kotori's head.
"I didn't do anything worth thanking! I didn't say it for anyone specific, so don't get the wrong idea! Idiot Shido!"
Despite her words, Kotori didn't push Shido's hand away. She just lowered her head to hide her blushing face.
"Yes, yes."
Shido chuckled. He then turned his gaze to Yutsuki and asked.
"Yutsuki, continuing from what we talked about earlier. About drawing the manga, can you help us too?"
"Asking for a favor while flirting with your sister... what should I even say to you, Shido?"
Yutsuki let out a long sigh, shrugged, and nodded.
"Fine. Unlike you, Kotori-chan must have a plan to win if she's doing this. Since you guys won't give up even at this point, I'll join you for a bit. Also—"
Looking at the phone that was just hung up, a hint of annoyance flashed in Yutsuki's eyes.
"Even though she's a manga artist I like, honestly... I'm getting a bit angry too."
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