February 19th, Monday, aboard the airship Fraxinus EX.
In the dim bedroom, Murasa Reine, who looked as though she had been sleeping soundly, suddenly opened her eyes. She turned her head, her weary pupils silently gazing at the clock placed beside the bed.
Tick—tock. Tick—tock.
(10—9—8—)
Reine counted down in her heart along with the movent of the second hand.
At the sa ti, the sun slowly rose from behind the clouds. The cold morning light slipped through the gap in the curtains, bringing a faint trace of life to the dim room.
(3—2—1—)
Ring ring ring ring ring ring!!
One second later, the alarm clock beside the bed began shaking and ringing like a husky whose tail had been stepped on, letting out an ear piercing sound.
Calmly turning off the alarm, Murasa Reine naturally got up from the bed and began unbuttoning the buttons at her chest to change clothes.
Changing clothes, washing up, preparing breakfast—sitting before the dining table, Reine silently counted the ti like a quiet stone statue. Only when it was exactly seven o'clock did she softly speak.
"Itadakimatsu…"
After saying that, Reine finally began enjoying her breakfast.
This was Murasa Reine's daily routine. Strictly speaking, for her as a Spirit, these actions were nothing more than a waste of ti and money. But in order to hide the fact that she was a Spirit, Reine deliberately imitated humans—or rather, the daily life of a woman in her late twenties or thirties.
Even though very few people visited her room, habits were the sort of thing that easily revealed the truth in small details. To be safe, Reine did her best to keep these everyday routines in mind.
That said, carrying them out too thoroughly would instead seem deliberate, so Reine also knew to intentionally omit certain habits depending on the situation. Sleep was one such example. After all, compared to waking up haggard from a nightmare of witnessing Shinji's death, she would rather endure several hours of a pain called boredom while lying in bed. It was easier that way.
"Today… is my date with Shin…"
After finishing breakfast, Reine murmured to herself as though confirming it.
Normally, around this ti, Reine would basically begin preparing for her work at Ratatoskr. But because Shido had suddenly invited her yesterday, she had spent the night finishing an entire day's worth of work in advance, freeing up ti for today.
There was still so ti before their eting, so after thinking for a mont, Reine decided to take a bath, then change clothes and put on so makeup.
(After all, I'm going on a date with Shin… It would not be good to go in my usual appearance.)
…
At 9:30 in the morning, bright sunlight poured over Tengu City, making one sigh that today was truly fine weather, perfect for going out.
"Hah… hoo…"
Having arrived early at the appointed place, Shido closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he adjusted his emotions.
Reine was the mysterious Origin Spirit who had always been wrapped in countless secrets. She was also his family from when he had been Takamiya Shinji. At the sa ti, she was the crucial clue needed to save Kurumi and change the past.
But right now, he had to throw all of those responsibilities and burdens to the back of his mind and face Reine purely as Itsuka Shido.
Judging from his past experience, if he beca too conscious of those problems, then the date itself would beco a thod. The other person would sense that he had another purpose during the date, which would lead to suspicion and distance.
Therefore, today, Shido had to sincerely look forward to the date and let Reine enjoy it. Going one step further, he had to make Reine like him. If he could not do that much, there was no way she would open her heart.
(What is this… After calmly thinking about it, I feel like I'm kind of a scumbag… Forget it. Don't think too much.)
Shido smiled wryly, rubbed his nose, and temporarily threw those distracting thoughts away.
"…Hey, Shin… Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Ah, Reine-san, you're here—"
Looking in the direction of the voice, Shido lost his words for a mont.
At this mont, Reine was not wearing the military uniform she wore aboard the ship, nor the plain white coat she wore at school.
Under an elegant coat was a white one-piece dress carefully decorated with lace. Her normally ssy hair had been neatly combed together, and her red lips seed to be shining with lipstick. Even the heavy dark circles under her eyes, which were always present, were nowhere to be seen.
Beautiful, gentle, and graceful—in Shido's eyes, Reine at this mont was not at all inferior to the other Spirits.
"…Shin?"
Reine looked at Shido in slight confusion.
"You're beautiful… Reine-san, I was stunned for a mont."
Shido could not help blurting it out. Honestly, even setting aside the contrast with her usual impression and the novelty of it, Reine's current appearance was more than enough to make soone stare.
"…Hm?"
Hearing Shido's praise, Reine's half opened, sleepy eyes widened slightly. After holding her chin and thinking for a mont, she replied sowhat hesitantly.
"…Mm. Thank you for the complint. Shin… your clothes are handso too."
"Th-thank you for the complint."
Although it felt sowhat like a polite social response, perhaps because of the influence of Shinji's mories, Shido still could not help feeling a little pleased.
"Mm…"
However, for so reason, Shido suddenly felt Reine's gaze scanning around his neck and ears.
"Hm? What is it, Reine-san?"
"No, sorry…"
Reine lightly shook her head and answered apologetically.
"Perhaps it is because I have grown used to watching Shin's dates from the command room… When I heard what you just said… I mistakenly thought Kotori had given you an order."
"Ahaha… I see."
Hearing Reine's words, Shido could not help laughing. Indeed, when he went on dates with other Spirits, he often said similar lines, so it was not strange for Reine to think that way.
"But this ti, I was simply expressing what I felt."
Shido waved his hand and pointed to his ear.
"Look, I'm not wearing the communication earpiece I usually use, right?"
"Indeed. But… I heard that after earphones were distributed to all the Spirits last year… Kotori had soone develop a bone conduction communicator worn around the neck."
(Kotori…)
Having unexpectedly learned extra information, Shido could not help feeling awkward.
"In any case, what I said just now wasn't Kotori's instruction. There's nothing hanging around my neck either. If Kotori knew I was going on a date with soone other than a Spirit, she would get angry."
"That is true… Sorry… I said sothing rude."
"Mm, it's fine."
Feeling that the atmosphere between the two had suddenly beco a little awkward, Shido hurriedly changed the topic.
"Well, though, that's true. If Kotori really were commanding from behind the scenes, then Ratatoskr would definitely already have started the voting phase. Based on my experience, the choices would probably be like this—"
As he spoke in a teasing tone, Shido raised his fingers one by one.
"① Say that I was srized, like I did just now.
② Praise Reine-san's new hairstyle.
③ Teasingly ask how to take off those clothes."
"Mm… Indeed, it would probably beco sothing like that. Most Spirits would usually have the highest hope value for ①. For soone like Mukuro or the Yamai sisters, who pay more attention to their appearance, ② might be better. As for ③… although there is so risk, it should be very effective on Origami, Miku or Nia." (TL: that is exactly what happened in the original lol)
As expected of Ratatoskr's analyst, Reine nodded and began analyzing it with perfect logic.
"By the way, Reine-san, which choice would you prefer?"
"…?"
Perhaps not expecting Shido to ask that, Reine looked slightly surprised. After thinking for a mont, she slowly replied.
"For … it should be ①. After all, I am also a woman, so naturally, being praised like that would make happy. As for ②, being noticed for a change in hairstyle would also be nice… As for ③…"
As she spoke, Reine gently hooked her finger around her collar and tilted her head to look at Shido.
"Shin… do you want to see?"
In an instant, through the gap in her clothing, which was pushed up by two enormous fruits, Shido caught a glimpse of Reine's smooth white collarbone and the sweet, alluring, deep valley beneath it.
Perhaps it was because he was affected by Shinji's mories, but Shido felt that he could not move his gaze away at all.
(Yutsuki swimsuit maid Yutsuki swimsuit maid Yutsuki swimsuit maid Yutsuki bikini swimsuit maid—)
"Cough cough—P-please don't tease , okay?"
Shido clenched his teeth and shut his eyes.
"Ah… sorry. For so reason… I suddenly wanted to tease you a little."
Reine released her hand and answered in a slow, gentle tone. Shido could not tell whether she was being serious or not.
However—
"You're smiling, Reine-san."
Looking at the slight curve at the corner of Reine's lips, Shido said.
"I… am smiling…?"
Reine froze slightly, then sowhat helplessly touched her own cheek.
"Mm. I feel like I rarely see you smile, Reine-san. Seeing it now, it really is cute."
"…Shinji?"
Staring blankly at Shido's face, Mio unconsciously murmured.
"…Hm? Reine-san, did you say sothing just now?"
"No… nothing…"
"In that case, it's about ti. Let's set off."
"Shin… where are we going today? I saw that you brought quite a lot of luggage…"
Looking at the luggage Shido was pulling, Reine asked curiously.
"Well, that's a secret for now. If I said I was afraid of the battle and wanted to hide away, what would you do?"
Shido smiled and answered mysteriously.
"Mm… I would feel very honored that you chose as your companion… If you wanted to run away, even to the ends of the earth, I would follow you…"
"That's really… tempting."
For an instant, Shido was so shaken by Reine's words, which contained no hesitation at all, that the urge to simply agree rose in his heart.
Taking a deep breath, Shido held out his hand to Reine.
"Then, since this is a date, may I hold your hand, Reine-san?"
"Mm… gladly."
Holding Reine's slender, fair fingers and feeling the happiness welling up in his heart, Shido could not help inwardly waking himself up.
(This… is even more challenging than I imagined…)
…
On the rooftop of a building one kiloter away from Shido, Yutsuki was observing the two through binoculars while using lip reading to confirm the contents of their conversation.
"Ah—Shido like that… Is he really going to be okay? It felt like he almost had his defenses broken just now."
Watching Shido and Reine enter the station, Yutsuki frowned speechlessly at Shido's behavior.
[Haha, what's wrong? You're not jealous, are you, Yutsuki?]
At that mont, Marina's teasing voice ca from the phone screen. In response, Yutsuki snapped back irritably.
"Go away. Who's jealous? I'm worried that guy won't be able to capture Reine and will instead drag himself in."
[That's what people call jealousy…]
"Listen, if the two of them really just eloped, that would be fine. With Reine protecting him, there'd be no need to worry about DEM harming Shido. What I'm afraid of is Reine not giving up on her original plan, then stabbing us in the back during the chaos and wiping us out for the Sephira Crystals."
[Yes, yes~ I'll take it as that being the case.]
"Tch… Whatever. In short, I'll leave Shido's side to Shido himself. As for my side, I'll do what I can and leave the rest to fate."
Too lazy to keep bantering with Marina, Yutsuki stretched her body and spoke.
"Then, old style opening—let's begin our date (war)."
User Comments
0 comments from readers