"Co to think of it, aren't you guys missing soone?"
Suddenly, Woodman seed to rember sothing. After glancing over Shido's group, he asked curiously.
"H... Excuse , is the lady nad Ryougi Yutsuki not here?"
"—!?"
Hearing soone ntion Yutsuki's na in an unexpected place, Shido subconsciously held his breath.
"U-Um—"
"Yutsuki-nee said she had other things to do, so she's acting separately from us right now."
Kotori smoothed things over from the side.
"I see. I was hoping to et that lady, what a pity."
Sighing with slight regret, Woodman said with a bitter smile.
"Excuse ... Woodman-san, do you know Yutsuki?"
Trying hard to keep his tone calm, Shido asked Woodman.
In his mory, Yutsuki had indeed t Woodman, but that was in the previous worldline. According to what Shido knew, the Yutsuki of this world shouldn't have t Woodman.
However, from his tone, Yutsuki didn't seem to simply be "a Spirit sealed by Shido" in his impression.
"Ryougi-san and I haven't t directly, but in a certain sense, I received quite a bit of care from her a while ago."
Woodman shook his head, his tone full of helplessness. And beside him, the originally expressionless Karen was now emitting an inexplicably displeased aura. From this alone, it could be seen that it probably wasn't a pleasant mory for them.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a wave of surprise.
"I am very sorry! It was an oversight on my part! I am willing to take full responsibility!"
"It's fine, it's fine! Commander Itsuka, honestly, I can't thank her enough."
Woodman waved his hands, explaining to everyone not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Not only did he not have a conflict with Yutsuki, but on the contrary, he was greatly helped by her.
"..."
Understanding it was just a misunderstanding, Itsuka Shido breathed a sigh of relief, and then a complex mix of feelings arose in his heart.
Not only in places he knew of, but in many places he hadn't focused on, or even noticed, Yutsuki had always been putting in imnse effort to protect him and their family. It was precisely because of Yutsuki's support that he was able to reach this point.
Naively thinking he already understood her enough; thinking he had grown enough to catch up to her pace; conceitedly believing he could stand independently and protect her. However, in reality, all of these were rely his own presumptions.
Looking back, arguing with Yutsuki over that point was undoubtedly his own immaturity.
If Shido hadn't thrown an unreasonable tantrum back then, but instead had been able to co up with more sufficient and correct reasons to persuade Yutsuki, even if Yutsuki wouldn't assist him, it wouldn't have escalated to the current situation.
Thinking of this, Shido couldn't help but feel ashad of his own childishness.
"...Boy, please continue to do your best with the upcoming Spirit conquests."
"...Understood, I will."
Feeling Woodman's gentle gaze that revealed a bit of expectation, Shido pursed his lips. After a mont, he slowly nodded.
"Mhm..."
Seemingly noticing sothing, Nia looked at Shido thoughtfully.
————————————
After concluding the conversation, Woodman left the airship under everyone's escort. In his own words, "An old, disabled man like would only be a burden if I tag along," so he said his goodbyes and left in a wheelchair pushed by Karen.
"Ah—!"
Just as everyone was preparing to return to the airship to stand by, Nia suddenly clapped her hands and let out an exaggerated cry.
"What's wrong, Nia?"
"Sorry everyone, I think I left sothing at the helicopter. Shido, I don't really know my way around here, could you take there to get it?"
Hearing Nia's words, Shido looked sowhat troubled.
"Um... I'm not very familiar with the layout here either. Wouldn't it be better to have a staff mber take you?"
Tch, he's so hard to deal with. Nia clicked her tongue secretly. Left with no choice, she shot a glance in Kotori's direction.
Noticing Nia's gaze, Kotori understood perfectly and let out a long sigh, saying.
"Sorry, I'm not very familiar with the staff at headquarters, and everyone is busy tuning the airship. For safety reasons, Shido, you'd better accompany Nia."
"Eh... alright then."
"OK! Imouto-chan has agreed, so I'll be borrowing the boy! GO! GO!"
"Wait, don't run so fast, Nia!"
Without a second word, Nia linked arms with Shido and walked out.
"Nia, the helicopter landing pad doesn't seem to be this way, right?"
Noticing that Nia was heading towards a corner with fewer and fewer people, Shido asked with so unease.
"Alright, don't ask so many questions and hurry up."
Nia urged, pulling Shido along. Honestly, if it were soone like Origami instead of Nia, Shido would have to be on guard against being ambushed and losing his virginity.
"Mhm, no need to worry about anyone hearing us here."
Walking into a secluded ergency exit stairwell, Nia nodded in satisfaction. After uttering a line that made Shido feel a slight sense of crisis, she turned around, crossed her arms over her chest, and struck a holy expression.
"Oh, lost little lamb~ I am the Lord's most sincere believer. Pour out your confessions to to your heart's content, and thus, your soul shall attain salvation—An~"
After saying that, Nia closed her eyes, feeling very good about herself. Perhaps in her world, holy light was currently enveloping her, and pure white angel wings were slowly falling around her.
"What are you doing... Nia?"
Completely unable to tell what kind of act Nia was putting on right now, a row of sweatdrops appeared on Shido's forehead.
"Well—you see, doesn't my Astral Dress look a lot like a nun's outfit? So I've always been looking for a chance to speak in a nun's tone."
"Is that it?"
"That's exactly it~"
Playfully opening her right eye, Nia looked at Shido with a wicked smile, returning to her usual frivolous tone.
"However, I didn't call you here just to joke around. Boy, you had a fight with Biri-chan, didn't you?"
Hearing Nia's words, Shido's heart skipped a beat. He originally wanted to find an excuse to gloss over it, but feeling Nia's serious gaze, which was different from usual, he fell into silence for a mont.
"...This is really a headache. Am I that easy to read? I thought I hid it pretty well."
"Well, you actually hid it pretty well yourself, Boy. However, to fool a big sister like who has been rolling around in society for years, it's not enough."
"...Big sister?"
"Hey! Why use a questioning tone there?"
"No, no! Your imagination."
Shido denied it while subtly looking away.
"Hmph... whatever."
Giving Shido a suspicious look, Nia shrugged, not holding onto it.
"Well, I have a rough idea of what you're thinking too. It's probably because you're afraid of making them uneasy and don't want to increase Imouto-chan's burden, so you plan to keep it hidden in your heart and not say anything, right?"
"Ugh—"
Seeing Shido looking like his innermost thoughts had been seen through, Nia couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"Well, since my Sephira Crystal has been taken away now, you don't have to worry about the danger of my Spirit power inverting. As soone to consult about life, aren't I just perfect? Besides, a protagonist harboring doubts before taking action—that's a conventional defeat flag, you know."
"I know, I'll tell you..."
Under Nia's persuasion, Shido honestly recounted the whole story of his argunt with Yutsuki.
"Hoh hoh—I see. Simply put, Boy and Biri-chan had a disagreent on whether to save Mukuro. Boy feels you must untie Mukuro's knot and seal her Spirit power, while Biri-chan thinks it's fine to leave Mukuro's problem alone. On the contrary, keeping her at full strength allows Mukuro to better protect herself, and you can borrow her power to deal with enemies, right?"
"Mhm... that's exactly it."
Nodding with a bitter smile, Shido was silent for a mont before asking with a confused face,
"Say, Nia... was I really wrong, and is Yutsuki's opinion the correct one?"
"Mhm... who knows? At least in my opinion, both Biri-chan's and Boy's views are actually correct."
After thinking for a mont, Nia answered,
"Indeed, judging from the current situation, Biri-chan's proposal is undoubtedly the most advantageous thod for us. But that doesn't an Boy's idea is wrong. At the very least, if we followed Biri-chan's way of thinking, the Spirits, including myself, couldn't possibly be saved."
In Honjou Nia's eyes, Ryougi Yutsuki and Itsuka Shido are two completely different types of people.
No matter what troubles Yutsuki encounters, she won't give up, but she also won't act aggressively to win. She calmly analyzes everything and then finds the best solution. Therefore, even if she is alone, she can deftly handle various dangers.
Shido, on the other hand, is a typical good-natured person who cannot ignore the misfortune of others. No matter what predicant he's in, he struggles to do good, thus constantly drawing the people around him in. Perhaps it looks reckless and impulsive in the eyes of others, but it is precisely because of this that he can change many things that originally couldn't be changed.
Neither is wrong, both are correct.
Just as Yutsuki told her before, if problems could be solved just by talking reason, the world would have been at peace long ago.
"Ah, but in the end, it was indeed Boy's fault."
Nia pointed out in a dissatisfied tone,
"It's true that Biri-chan's words were very harsh, but to yell 'You don't understand anything!' at soone who cares about you and offers serious advice is going way too far. I would be angry too if I were in her shoes."
"As I thought."
Seemingly understanding his fault, Shido couldn't help but lower his head in dejection.
"I also know I went too far, but I couldn't think of any reason to persuade Yutsuki. If I hadn't retorted back then, everyone would have definitely supported Yutsuki's proposal. Moreover..."
Midway through speaking, Shido muttered softly at a volu only he could hear.
'Moreover... it was Yutsuki who made resolve to persist in saving Spirits back then.'
"Hm, Boy, what did you say?"
"Nothing at all."
Giving Shido a puzzled look, Nia didn't pay too much mind and continued,
"Regardless. Boy, you still intend to make up with Biri-chan, right?"
"Mhm..."
Shido nodded honestly. Or rather, after shouting that sentence at the ti, he regretted it on the spot.
"But, how exactly should I apologize? After saying such harsh words, I feel Yutsuki won't forgive that easily."
Saying this, Shido's face was full of bitterness. However, regarding this point, Nia's view was a bit different.
"Well, that might not be the case. In my opinion, reconciling is actually very simple."
"Really?! How do I do it?"
Shido looked at Nia with surprised eyes.
"This might just be my prejudice, but Boy... Biri-chan gives the feeling, how should I put it—a bit unlike a girl."
Seemingly feeling her phrasing was a bit strange, Nia scratched her hair, deliberated her words for a while, and continued,
"Mhm, I can't exactly say 'unlike'... It's just that when normal girls have a fight with soone, the words they say usually don't match their true feelings. Whatever they're angry about is definitely kept bottled up inside, and if you don't guess it right yourself, it's absolutely impossible to reconcile. But Biri-chan is different. She might have hidden anings when talking to people close to her, but she will absolutely not tell lies. Boy, do you rember what Biri-chan said to you at the very end?"
What did Yutsuki say at the end? Shido tried to recall the conversation from that ti.
[Until you apologize, I will absolutely not forgive you.]
(Could it be...)
"Although hearing those words, one would normally feel the other party is extrely angry. But in reality, could it be that Biri-chan just wanted to say—'As long as you apologize, I will forgive you'?"
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