Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 330 330: Fraxinus—EX!!

—Vvvvrmmm!

The deep rumbling of the rotor blades filled Itsuka Shido's eardrums. Looking out the window, he could see a clear blue sky, with white clouds constantly passing through his field of vision.

At this mont, Shido had left the temporary command room beneath Tengu City and boarded a Ratatoskr transport helicopter.

"Hah..."

Shido sighed sowhat exhaustedly.

Although it was a rather interesting experience, staring at the sa scenery for hours on end makes even the freshest views tedious.

Perhaps taking a short nap would be a good choice. In fact, the Spirits who accompanied him were mostly asleep in their seats right now.

However, due to certain reasons, Shido couldn't fall asleep as peacefully as the others. He could only silently count clouds in his heart until they reached their destination.

"Kotori, where exactly are we going?"

Shido couldn't help but ask.

"You'll know when we get there."

Kotori answered, shaking the Chupa Chups in her hand.

"Sorry, I'm not doubting you guys. It's just that the place we're going next can be considered the lifeline of our Ratatoskr. Mhm, judging by the ti, we should be almost—"

[Commander, we have arrived at the destination.]

As if right on cue, the pilot's broadcast ca through the intercom.

"It seems I have a tir built inside ."

Making a joking remark, Kotori clapped her hands and shouted loudly.

"Alright, prepare for landing, everyone wake up."

"Umu... are we there..."

Tohka, who had been resting her head on Shido's left shoulder, opened her eyes groggily, a drop of drool still lingering at the corner of her mouth.

"Sorry... Shido, I accidentally fell asleep."

"It's fine." Shido shook his head with a bitter smile, looked down at Tobiichi Origami, who had been sleeping soundly on his right thigh for the past hour since everyone else fell asleep.

"Um... Origami, it's ti to get off the helicopter. Honestly, my leg is getting a bit numb."

"..."

The "soundly sleeping" Origami turned a deaf ear to Shido's words. She rolled over on the bench seat, facing the inner side of Shido's thigh, and let out slow, warm breaths.

"U-Um..."

"—!!"

In contrast to the flustered and awkward Shido, veins popped on Kotori's forehead.

"Origami, if you keep pretending to be asleep, I'm going to leave you here and send you back to Tengu City."

"...Tch."

After a brief struggle, they finally managed to wake the "soundly sleeping" Origami from Shido's thigh.

Subsequently, Shido and the others, led by the staff, disembarked from the helicopter.

Sowhat different from Shido's imagination, this place looked less like a helicopter landing pad and more like an exaggerated sealed do. Solid tal walls covered the sky like a skylight, and dozens of large floodlights replaced the sun as the space's light source. All around, Shido could see various complex chanical parts and many busy staff mbers.

"Everyone, over here."

After communicating with the staff here, Kotori called Shido, the Spirits, and her crew over to a massive hangar door.

"Ooh—So cool. Imouto-chan, can I take a picture to use as manga reference material?"

Staring wide-eyed at her surroundings, Nia couldn't help but ask enthusiastically.

"Absolutely not, this is top secret."

Unceremoniously pouring cold water on Nia, Kotori inputted a series of complex passwords. Accompanied by an electronic chi, the main doors slowly moved to the sides.

"Oh—"

Everyone couldn't help but let out a gasp of awe.

Presented before Shido's eyes was a massive airship.

A sharp hull composed of white and lapis lazuli colors, housing a main cannon port in the middle, a stern that extended like the branches of a giant tree, and leaf-shaped wings glinting with a tallic sheen. Even among existing airships, it was an absolutely unique existence.

"Is this the Fraxinus?"

Shido asked with a hint of doubt. Although the basic shape and structure of the airship were the sa, upon closer inspection, he noticed many differences in the details between the airship before him and the Fraxinus in his mory.

"Of course."

Giving a definitive answer, Kotori raised her eyebrows proudly and declared loudly.

"This is the upgraded version equipped with Ratatoskr's most advanced Realizers, comprehensively improving its performance—Its na is, Fraxinus Excelsior!"

As her voice fell, Kannazuki behind her spread his limbs into an "X" pose. The other crew mbers silently lined up in two rows on Kotori's left and right, striking symtrical poses that maxed out the chuunibyou ter. anwhile, Reine stood to the side, expressionlessly throwing confetti.

"E, EX...?"

Unsure of how to react, a hint of awkwardness appeared on Shido's face.

"That's right. Although it was in the previous worldline, it's an undeniable fact that we were powerless against Ellen's Goetia. So, I sent the Fraxinus back to headquarters for an upgrade. From getting the application approved to completing the modifications, it took a lot of effort."

Kotori chuckled softly, speaking in a self-deprecating tone.

On November 8th, the day Shido, Yutsuki, and Tokisaki Kurumi changed history, Kotori had led her subordinates in two airship battles against Mathers.

Out of concern for the safety of the Spirits aboard the airship, Kotori chose a conservative defensive tactic. So while they didn't suffer a defeat, they didn't achieve victory either.

Kotori knew very well that at the ti, it wasn't that she chose defense, but that defense was her only choice. Judging by the mobility and firepower displayed by the airship nad Goetia, if they had clashed head-on, Kotori's side would undoubtedly have lost.

Naturally, Kotori had no intention of swallowing this frustration. So after regaining her mories, she decisively sent the Fraxinus back to headquarters for an upgrade, enabling it to better handle future battles and wipe away her previous humiliation.

"Next, if we are to go to space and et this Mukuro, we must also rely on it to take us there. With its speed, we'll arrive in a flash."

Saying this, Kotori made a gesture of throwing a paper airplane. Hearing that they would be riding this airship to space next, everyone's gazes beca fervent.

"Well, because we still need to make so fine-tuning, there's still a little ti before takeoff. But boarding the ship is no problem—Ah, right, right."

Mid-sentence, Kotori seed to rember sothing and turned her gaze to Shido.

"Shido, there's soone who wants to see you."

"Hm?"

Hearing Kotori's words, Shido looked sowhat puzzled.

"Who wants to see ?"

"You'll know when you see them."

Subsequently, Shido and the others were teleported inside the Fraxinus EX.

Compared to the exterior, the changes inside the ship were much more obvious. The internal space had beco more spacious, the number of display screens had increased, and Realizers for teleportation had been set up in each area. According to Kotori's introduction, even traveling from the upper bridge to the lower residential area now only took an instant.

Of course, this wasn't the most major change.

[Long ti no see, how have you been lately? Shido.]

"Maria?!"

Seeing the white-haired girl wearing a nun's outfit appear on the hallway screen, Shido couldn't help but shout in surprise.

"Ooh—Isn't this Maria?"

"Maria-san, long ti no see!"

"Hoh hoh—It's been a long ti, Spirit of Electrons. I trust you've been well?"

"Greeting. Long ti no see, Maria."

Seeing Maria appear, Tohka, Yoshino, Miku, and the Yamai sisters all felt a wave of pleasant surprise and gathered in front of the screen to greet her.

[Everyone, long ti no see. I'm very happy to see you all again too.]

A joyful smile appearing on her face, Maria lifted her skirt and bowed slightly to Tohka and the others.

"Um... although it's very tactless to ask at this ti, I apologize. This person... is she an acquaintance of yours?"

Natsumi hesitantly raised her hand to ask.

[Nice to et you,Natsumi-san. I am the Artificial AI of this Fraxinus EX—Arusu Maria. Please take care of from now on.]

"Hah... please take care of too."

Nodding tentatively, Natsumi looked at Maria on the screen, who was indistinguishable from a real person, and asked with a strange expression.

"AI?"

[Yes~ I am an AI.]

Maria responded with a bright and moving smile like sunshine.

"Ooh, so this is Artificial Intelligence, first ti seeing one in reality. The reactions are so realistic there's basically no difference from a human."

Seeing Maria conversing so easily and fluently with everyone, Nia couldn't help but utter a sound of admiration.

Whether as reference material for a manga plot or out of pure curiosity, Nia took a few steps forward, wanting to observe Maria from a closer distance.

And then—tragedy struck.

"Ugh—wai————————————————"

Suddenly, the ventilation vents below the screen blasted out a massive gust of air. The strong air pressure rcilessly smacked Nia in the face, blowing her back against the opposite wall.

"Nia? Are you okay?"

"Haha... I'm fine."

After the airflow from the vent stopped, Nia finally detached herself from the wall and landed on her feet. Although she wasn't injured, her already sowhat ssy short gray hair was blown completely backward, giving her an inexplicably punk rock look.

Picking up her glasses from the floor and putting them back on, Nia looked at Maria on the screen with a sweatdrop.

"Um...Maria-san, did I do sothing to make you angry just now?"

[Yes.]

With the sa bright smile on her face, Maria unhesitatingly nodded in affirmation.

[Unless absolutely necessary, I do not wish to engage in any communication or contact with you,Nia-san. That just now was rely a warning. If there is a next ti, I might report you to the police for sexual harassnt.]