Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 467 467: Reset Again

—Shido? Shido!!

—Nushi-sama?

"—Huh?!"

Startled by the voices suddenly ringing in his ears, Shido snapped his eyes wide open, letting out a rather strange gasp.

Looking in the direction of the voices, Shido saw Tohka and Mukuro standing side by side next to him, looking at him with deep concern.

"Are you okay, Shido? You suddenly just stood there spacing out."

"Your complexion seems poor. Is Nushi-sama feeling unwell?"

"Tohka... Mukuro—This is bad! We need to hurry—"

Seeing the two of them, Shido hurriedly tried to say sothing, but mid-sentence, his voice abruptly vanished in his throat.

"Hurry... What was I trying to say just now?"

With his mouth hanging open in silence for a long ti, Shido asked himself in utter bewildernt.

He looked around in confusion. He was currently standing on the sidewalk of the shopping district. The sun hanging in the sky was already tinged with orange; it was getting close to evening.

—Haa, finally off work~ So tired. Let's go ho and get so good rest.

—Hey, wanna hit the arcade later?

—Sure.

—Papa, what's for dinner tonight?

—Aoi's favorite, hamburger steak.

—Wow, aweso! Let's hurry ho! We're having a yummy dinner tonight, Mary!

—ow.

—Co on, co on! Co take a look! Fresh vegetables!

Shido could see employees getting off work, students heading ho from school, housewives grocery shopping—all sorts of people bustling through the streets. His ears could clearly hear the energetic, booming voices of the shopkeepers trying to attract custors.

It was a familiar, incredibly peaceful, entirely ordinary, everyday scene.

"Hurry? Did you rember sothing urgent, Shido?"

"Did Nushi-sama leave sothing behind at the academy?"

"Mhm... I just feel like I've forgotten sothing really important..."

Staring blankly at the palms of his hands, Shido spoke with lingering uncertainty.

Hearing Shido's words, Tohka and Mukuro exchanged a glance, a look of confusion appearing on their faces.

"...No, it's probably just my imagination."

Shido smiled and shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the lingering phantom feeling.

"Sorry, Tohka, Mukuro. Making you go all the way to school with for nothing."

"What are you saying? You're worried about that? Umu! It's fine. Since it concerns Shido's safety, I naturally have to help."

"Nushi-sama need not mind. Being able to tour the academy where Nushi-sama studies was also a very novel experience for Muku."

"Even though it caused quite a commotion..."

Recalling the uproar Mukuro had caused when she ca to the school under the guise of a tour, as well as the murderous glares from the entire male student body focused squarely on his back, Shido couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Speaking of which, Shido, what's for dinner today?"

Looking at the heavy-looking plastic bags Shido was carrying, Tohka asked curiously.

Prompted by Tohka's question, a triumphant smile curled on the corners of Shido's mouth.

"Hehe~ I splurged a bit today and bought a nice cut of pork tenderloin! Not only is the at bouncy, but it's incredibly tender and juicy. We're having it as the main dish tonight, so look forward to it, Tohka!"

"Ohoho..."

Hearing Shido's description, Tohka practically drooled, swallowing hard.

"That's great, Mukuro! We get to eat at tonight, you can eat as much as you want."

Faced with Tohka's innocent remark, Mukuro answered sowhat awkwardly, a blush dusting her cheeks.

"U-Um... Muku is not a glutton... a moderate amount is sufficient..."

"Hm? But during the big eater contest, didn't you..."

"T-Tohka?!"

Mukuro hurriedly clamped her hands over Tohka's mouth, stopping her from continuing.

"Hm? What about the big eater contest?"

Shido asked curiously.

"A trivial matter... Nushi-sama need not pay it any mind. It is getting late, let us hasten our return to the estate!"

Saying that, Mukuro, her face completely flushed, pushed Shido and Tohka's shoulders from behind, frantically urging them to hurry ho.

———————

Tengu City, JGSDF Special Unit—AST Military Base.

Sitting at a cafe right outside the base gates, Yutsuki sipped the cappuccino she bought while playing with her phone to pass the ti.

"So slow... Is she not done yet?"

Looking at the completely motionless gates across the street, Yutsuki muttered, growing impatient.

Finally, the heavy iron gates slid open. Tobiichi Origami chatted briefly with a few female soldiers in uniform before turning and walking toward Yutsuki.

"How did it go?"

As soon as Origami sat down across from her, Yutsuki asked eagerly.

Origami nodded calmly.

"Mission accomplished. The bombs planted in the twenty-six shelters have all been disard by.. Captain Kusakabe and her team."

"Thank goodness..."

Hearing Origami's answer, Yutsuki collapsed against the back of the sofa, letting out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

"Wow, you really saved us, Origami. If I went to tell them, it would either cause unnecessary trouble or just get ignored completely. It's great that they were dealt with so quickly. By the way, want sothing to drink? My treat, as thanks."

"No, I appreciate the thought."

Shaking her head silently, Origami looked at Yutsuki and asked with a deadly serious expression.

"Yutsuki, the intel about the bombs planted in the shelters this ti... did you get that from Tokisaki Kurumi too?"

"Well... it's exactly as you suspect."

Yutsuki smiled bitterly, nodding without denying it.

Hearing her words, Origami frowned in confusion.

"What is going on? Didn't you say this morning that your alliance with her had fallen apart?"

"Well, if you ask , I don't know either. Maybe she suddenly thought it through and decided to forgive ."

Yutsuki shrugged helplessly.

"It is very strange," Origami stated analytically. "In the previous instances, DEM's target of attack was always Shido. To prevent Shido's Spirit power from returning to our bodies, Kurumi provided you with intel to stop DEM. I can understand that. But this ti, the bombs DEM planted were in empty shelters. Even if the spatialquake alarms sounded, Shido would not evacuate to a shelter. The only casualties would be the civilians. So why would Kurumi give you this intel?"

"Maybe she couldn't stand DEM's thods and wanted to play the Ally of Justice for once."

"Are you saying that seriously?"

"Well..."

Yutsuki spread her hands helplessly.

Alright, even Yutsuki felt like a massive hypocrite after saying that. The idea that Kurumi, who had murdered over ten thousand people and was dubbed the "Worst Spirit", would actually care about the lives of ordinary civilians sounded completely unconvincing even to herself.

"Yutsuki, what exactly is Kurumi's goal? If she truly just wanted to kill Shido and take his Spirit power, she wouldn't need to go through so much trouble. Are you... hiding sothing?"

After a long silence, Origami stared directly into Yutsuki's eyes and asked sternly.

"Mhm... yes."

Yutsuki nodded slowly.

"However, please don't misunderstand. I'm not intentionally trying to hide things from you guys. It's just that right now, I'm only at the stage of speculation. Moreover, this involves Kurumi's privacy. If possible, I don't want to broadcast it without her permission."

Saying that, Yutsuki let out a long sigh. Her expression turned sowhat lancholic, and slightly guilty.

"All I can tell you is that, in this entire ordeal, Kurumi is probably the one carrying the heaviest burden, and the one suffering the most."

"...I understand. If you say so, I will stop asking for now."

With that, Origami stood up from her seat.

"It is almost ti for dinner. Are you eating at your own place today, or are you going to Shido's house to eat?"

Yutsuki asked.

"I am going to Shido's house. I made a promise with Tohka and Mukuro. I am going to teach them how to make chocolate."

"Heh... That's surprising. I didn't expect you to agree to sothing like that."

Hearing Origami's words, Yutsuki felt genuinely surprised.

"It is nothing... I just want a fair competition."

Origami answered indifferently.

"Do you want to join us?"

"?"

Caught off guard by Origami's invitation, Yutsuki blinked, then shook her head with a wry smile.

"I'll pass. Honestly, I'm pretty exhausted today, so I want to get so good rest."

"I see... Never mind then."

Seeing Yutsuki decline, Origami felt a bit disappointed but didn't insist.

"By the way, what kind of chocolate are you planning to make, Origami?"

"A one to one scale chocolate statue modeled after myself."

"Uh..."

Hearing Origami's answer, the corner of Yutsuki's eye twitched violently.

"Is there a problem?"

"The fact that you're so confident there isn't a problem is what baffles the most. Exactly how much excessive sugar are you trying to make Shido ingest before the chocolate expires?!"

"I see... I must consider nutritional balance as well... Then I will maintain the level of detail... but reduce the scale..."

"Good grief~"

Looking at Origami muttering to herself with her head down, Yutsuki sighed softly and opened her phone's inbox.

[DEM planted bombs in every indoor shelter in the city. They plan to use the citizens as hostages to threaten Shido-san. —by Tokisaki Kurumi.]

(What a hopeless idiot... Well, I was careless too, so I don't really have the right to say that.)

Yutsuki couldn't help but sigh internally. Because DEM's recent tactics had all been direct assassinations targeting Shido, she had considered—but ultimately overlooked—the possibility of them taking ordinary civilians hostage.

Twenty-six shelters. If Origami, a forr AST mber, hadn't convinced her old squadmates, Yutsuki and the crew of Kotori's airship wouldn't have been able to locate and safely disarm all the bombs in such a short amount of ti.

Just thinking about the potential consequences sent a chilling dread down Yutsuki's spine.

Continuing to scroll through her emails, she saw a ssage Kotori had sent a while ago, saying they had run into Kurumi at the store and decided to make chocolate together in a friendly manner.

Honestly, when she saw that ssage, Yutsuki really didn't know what expression to make.

(What is Kurumi thinking? I'd like to know too.)

Roasting the situation internally, Yutsuki deleted Kurumi's ssage and walked back to the Itsuka residence with Origami.