Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 581 581: Code: Ignore and Do Not Respond

The moon was bright and the lights were few. The pure white moon hung high in the sky, draping silent Tengu City in a soft nightgown.

At this hour, when all things had quieted, the command room of the airship Fraxinus EX was still filled with heated activity. Itsuka Kotori and her subordinates were working at full speed.

"Minowa. What are the results regarding Date City?"

"Report, Commander. The staff inside the underground facility have completed the weapon conversions. All equipnt and chanisms have been inspected and confird. The trial run is in good condition."

"Nakatsugawa. Any movents from the DEM base?"

"None at present. However, according to contact from external intelligence personnel, a group of troops from DEM's London headquarters is gradually moving toward Japan."

Hearing this news, Kotori could not help frowning.

(Reinforcents? Kurumi said DEM was preparing to launch an all out attack. Looks like that wasn't a lie.)

The Chupa Chups lollipop rolled around in her mouth. After thinking for a mont, Kotori issued an order.

"…Contact the local personnel. Have them investigate as much information on those troops as possible. Their route, exact scale, personnel deploynt, who their commander is. The more detailed, the better."

"Understood."

"Hoo…"

Letting out a long breath, Itsuka Kotori rubbed her eyes and leaned tiredly against the back of her chair.

"Commander, how about taking a short rest? You haven't rested properly these past few days, have you?"

Minowa asked with concern.

These past few days, because they had been on guard against DEM and Tokisaki Kurumi's actions, Fraxinus EX had been operating almost twenty four hours a day. The staff could at least maintain their schedule with shifts. But as commander, Kotori had to confirm situations and make judgnts as quickly as possible, causing her to spend the vast majority of these past few days aboard the airship.

"Thank you for worrying, but I'm fine. Sothing this minor is nothing."

Kotori smiled and waved her hand.

[No, that is a lie.]

At that mont, on the computer screen, a warning window suddenly popped up with a white haired little figure dressed in a nun outfit.

[Kotori, based on my assessnt of your physical data, your blood pressure and blood sugar concentration have slightly risen; your concentration and reaction speed have also decreased by 13% compared to normal conditions. You have clearly entered a fatigued state.]

Kotori looked at Maria with so distress.

"Maria… I don't rember allowing you to monitor my physical data."

[The tasks assigned to by the system include ensuring the stability of the bodies and ntal states of 'Spirits.' Kotori is also one of the Spirits, so I naturally have an obligation to confirm your condition.]

"Honestly…"

Looking at Maria, who was so confidently justified, Kotori held her forehead and sighed. She did not know whether this reason was real, or whether Maria was deliberately fooling her.

"Commander, as Maria-san said, please rest properly."

At that mont, Kannazuki, who was standing nearby, made a suggestion.

"Precisely because a great battle is approaching, you need to conserve energy. Although being looked down upon with a tired and cold gaze has its own special charm, if it affects your beauty, Commander, that would be putting the cart before the horse."

Seeing Kannazuki make a serious suggestion for once, Kotori was stunned for a long mont. Only then did she sigh and compromise.

"…Fine. I'll rest for a while. Kannazuki, I'll temporarily leave things here to you. You know the consequences if you fail, right?"

"Of course! However, Commander, if I perfectly complete the mission, regarding my previous request that you bind with a tortoise shell rope and make your exclusive chair, I sincerely ask you to consi—"

…

—Clunk.

"Papaya milk, huh…"

In the airship's lounge, Kotori tried the vending machine Yutsuki had suggested installing, the one with a gacha chanism. Looking at the drink she had drawn, Kotori felt a hard to describe subtlety.

(I sense so kind of malice. Well, whatever…)

Perhaps because she really was sowhat tired, the signals in her body craving water and sugar made her choose to ignore those little details. She directly pulled open the tab of the can.

"Gulp, gulp—hah~ It tastes pretty good."

Exhaling in satisfaction, Kotori placed the can on her knees while admiring the night sky and enjoying this brief rest.

[By the way, Yutsuki-nee. You aren't hiding anything from us together with Shido, are you?]

[I am. But I can't say it yet.]

(Yutsuki-nee… you were way too straightforward.)

Rembering the conversation from a few days ago, Kotori could not help smiling wryly.

Not lying to family—this was Yutsuki's principle. Kotori naturally understood that too. But not lying did not an she would not hide things, so Yutsuki's statent at the ti really had surprised her.

However, it also showed from another angle that Yutsuki was not deliberately hiding things because she distrusted them, but because there were other circumstances. Otherwise, Kotori might have chosen to press further or investigate on her own.

(When Onii-chan finds the answer, huh? Ah—this is really bothering …)

Sowhat unable to restrain her curiosity, Kotori could not help swinging her legs.

Honestly, if asked whether Kotori cared about what Yutsuki and Shido were investigating, the answer was yes. But out of trust for the two of them, Kotori had rembered Yutsuki's warning, suppressed the urge to dig into it, and obediently waited.

In a sense, spending these days working overti aboard the airship had also been a way to distract herself.

"Mm?"

At that mont, Kotori's phone suddenly vibrated. When she opened it, it was a communication from Marina.

"Marina? What do you need?"

[Hehe~ Nothing much. I just found sothing interesting, so I wanted to share it with you.]

"Sothing interesting?"

Seeing the playful, wicked smile of the black haired nun on the screen, Kotori could not help feeling confused. While drinking her milk, she opened the video attachnt Marina had ntioned.

[Reine-san. Tomorrow, would you go on a date with ?]

"Pffff————!!"

The instant she heard those words, Kotori could not hold back and sprayed the milk from her mouth.

She saw her older brother, Itsuka Shido, on the screen with a solemn and sincere expression, inviting her subordinate Murasa Reine on a date.

"Cough, cough—what is going on? Why would Onii—Shido ask Reine on a date?"

After coughing a few tis and recovering, Kotori could not help asking.

[Who knows~ From my observation, perhaps Shido has grown used to girls his age and lolis, and has instead begun to develop a need for older, mature onee-san. That's why he sought out Reine at a ti like this, hoping that before the life and death battle, an experienced older sister would guide him across the staircase to adulthood.]

Marina teased with a wicked grin.

"Wha—"

The instant she heard this, Kotori almost exploded with rage. But she understood that Marina was deliberately teasing her, and barely suppressed her anger to calm herself down.

(Calm down… No matter how stupid Shido is, there's no way he'd do sothing that creates extra trouble at such an important ti. Could what Yutsuki-nee said she was investigating have sothing to do with Reine?)

Kotori's brow furrowed tightly as she sank into thought.

Coincidentally, right at that mont, a set of gentle footsteps ca from not far down the corridor.

Kotori turned her head and saw the girl nad Ryougi Yutsuki slowly walking toward her.

(Yu—?!)

Kotori originally intended to call out, but when she saw Yutsuki raise both index fingers in a cross before her lips and close her right eye, she stopped herself and chose silence.

That was the code everyone had discussed with Yutsuki while training in the virtual world—Ignore and do not respond.

When Yutsuki made this gesture, they had to ignore her. No matter what Yutsuki said, they were not to respond, and had to treat her as though she were air.

This also used, to a certain degree, the loophole that Beelzebub could not directly observe Ryougi Yutsuki, avoiding important information from being learned by Westcott.

"…Haah, once I have free ti, I have nothing to do instead. Marina, do you have anything to recomnd for passing ti?"

Pretending not to see Yutsuki, Kotori spoke to Marina on her phone.

[Let's see. Then I'll recomnd the soap drama Yoshino often watches.]

As she said that, the display screen not far from Kotori automatically began playing a cliche romance drama.

At the sa ti, Yutsuki also walked to Kotori's side and sat down in the seat beside her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kotori. I ca to fulfill my promise and report what I know to you."

Kotori drank the papaya milk in her hand, pretending to watch TV while quietly listening to Yutsuki's words.

"I think you've already heard from Marina about Shido inviting Reine on a date. So I'll get straight to the point and start from the conclusion. Murasa Reine is a Spirit. Her real na is Takamiya Mio. She is the true body of Phantom, the one who turned you, Miku, and the others into Spirits. She is also the Origin Spirit who appeared in this world thirty years ago."

"Ng—cough, cough—ah—cough, cough—"

Accidentally choking on the milk, Kotori imdiately coughed violently.

(How is that possible? Reine is a Spirit? And the Phantom from back then? The first Spirit from thirty years ago? And Takamiya Mio is related to Mana and Onii—)

The information was too shocking, causing Kotori's head to beco sowhat chaotic.

[Oh my, oh my? What is it, Kotori-chan? You got that worked up just from seeing a French kiss scene? I never expected our Commander to be this pure hearted.]

"…I did not. I just choked by accident."

Kotori shot Marina an annoyed glance, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, then touched the black ribbon tied around her head before finally adjusting her feelings and once again looking toward the TV.

"Then I'll continue."

Yutsuki's voice sounded beside her ear once more.

"Approximately thirty years ago, she manifested as the First Spirit and ca to a certain city. There, she t Shido, was taken in by his family as an adopted daughter, and was given the na Takamiya Mio."

(Thirty years ago? But Shido is only seventeen.)

"You must be wondering how Shido could have known Mio back then when he hadn't even been born yet. Strictly speaking, the one who took Mio in at the ti was not Shido, but an ordinary person nad Takamiya Shinji. He refused to hand Mio over to DEM, and as a result, was killed by them."

"—!!"

Hearing this, Kotori's pupils contracted sharply, but she still restrained her emotions.

"Then Mio used so thod to revive Shinji, turning him into a baby with no mories of the past. In other words, the Shido we know. Mio then disguised herself as an ordinary human under the na Murasa Reine. As for why she didn't reunite with him and instead caused so many incidents behind the scenes, it was probably all for Shinji."

(For… Shinji?)

Hearing the na Yutsuki used, Kotori felt an ominous premonition in her heart.

"This is my speculation. For her, Shinji's revival is likely incomplete, or perhaps not finished. Shido may be closer to a physical vessel ant to revive Shinji. She turned humans into Spirits, then had Shido seal the Spirits's power inside him. She is likely transferring Spirit power so that Shido can achieve so kind of evolution."

(So kind of evolution…)

Kotori could not help falling into thought. Indeed, as long as Shido was not hit by an instantly fatal injury, he could heal on his own. If he abused the power inside him, even destroying Japan would not be a joke.

"There are only two Sephira Crystals left that have yet to be sealed by Shido. She is also very close to her goal," Yutsuki analyzed. "When we fight DEM and Kurumi in the chaos, she will probably reap the benefits, seize the remaining Sephira Crystals during the disorder, and complete Shinji's revival."

"…"

[What's wrong, Kotori? You haven't spoken for a while.]

"Sorry, I was too focused on watching. I was just thinking about what kind of feelings the male lead has right now."

Kotori pointed at the TV and said.

[Ah~ Isn't that obvious? Right now, he definitely wants to show off in front of the woman he likes, so he's trying to take the spotlight. Also—]

"Shido knows these things. Rather, I basically learned all this from him. Mukuro's Michael did indeed help him recover his past mories."

Reading Kotori's hidden aning, Yutsuki added an explanation.

Hearing this, Kotori bit her lip anxiously. Honestly, if Yutsuki had said Shido had not recovered his mories, she would have felt more at ease. If he rembered another set of mories, would he beco Takamiya Shinji, no longer Itsuka Shido, no longer her older brother?

As if seeing through Kotori's unease, she felt her head being gently stroked.

"Rembering the past does not an the ti you and Shido spent together was fake. Although I had Shido invite Reine on a date because I wanted to use Reine to obtain information, he himself says he simply wants to help Reine move on from the past. So don't worry. I don't think the thing you're afraid of will happen."

Although Kotori felt a little dissatisfied at being treated like a child, she did indeed feel sowhat relieved.

"Then, report complete. I'll withdraw first. Good night, Kotori. Ah~talking to myself alone feels really awful."

Saying that, Yutsuki stood up. The sound of her footsteps gradually moved away from Kotori's side, until it vanished from the lounge.

Kotori raised her head toward the sky, digesting the information Yutsuki had brought. Her heart felt as though a bottle of five flavors had been overturned inside it.

(The Origin Spirit, Phantom, reviving Shinji… In the end, were you only using to help Shido seal Spirits? Reine…)

Reine was Kotori's subordinate, but in Kotori's eyes, she was even more a close friend despite the age difference. During the ti from when she beca a Spirit until she beca the commander of Fraxinus, she had also received a great deal of help and support from Reine.

The other party had approached her with another purpose. Their so called friendship might have been nothing more than her own wishful thinking. Thinking of that possibility, Kotori felt as though she had been betrayed, and wanted nothing more than to rush to Reine's room and confront her on the spot.

But at the sa ti, she also vaguely understood Reine's feelings.

Once one had experienced the pain of separation, one would beco deeply afraid of losing soone again. After learning of the possibility that Shido had been killed by DEM, Kotori herself had also felt so resistance to letting Shido go onto the battlefield again.

[You traitor! I will never forgive you!!]

Seeing the scene playing on the TV, Kotori could not help frowning and asked Marina,

"Marina, what exactly happened in this drama for it to turn into this?"

[Oh? You didn't understand?]

"Don't ask what you already know."

[Okay, okay~ Basically, the female lead thought they were sincerely in love, but accidentally discovered that the other party had approached her with another purpose. In anger, she broke up with him. But in truth, the male lead gradually developed feelings for her after spending ti together. Yet fate played tricks on them. Through all sorts of coincidences and misunderstandings, the misunderstandings deepened more and more. In the end, only after the male lead sacrificed himself for the female lead did she finally wake up and collapse in tears over everything she had lost.]

After listening to Marina's explanation, which was almost a complete spoiler, Kotori's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

"…Are you sure Yoshino likes watching this?" (TL:Yoshino have my mom taste in drama)

[Mm. She never misses an episode.]

"…Haah—my head hurts."

Kotori could not help letting out a long sigh. She understood that no matter how she looked at it, tonight was destined to be sleepless.