Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 93 93: Interlude: Arusu's Name

It was getting late, and since Shido had run out again to look for Arusu, Yutsuki, left alone to prepare dinner for eight people including Tohka and the others, obviously couldn't make anything too extravagant. So Yutsuki simply picked out so leftover usable ingredients and prepared to make a huge pot of fried rice.

"Hah... I really don't understand why I have to prepare a midnight snack for so many people in the middle of the night."

Yutsuki let out a long sigh, placing the chopped vegetables into a giant iron wok, followed by a bit of seasoning. Holding a large ladle in one hand, she poured oil into the wok. As the high heat caused smoke to rise from the wok, relying on her Spirit power, she lifted the incredibly heavy iron wok horizontally, shaking it to stir-fry the rice grains inside, ensuring every grain was heated evenly.

[Oh, wow, amazing!Yutsuki-san~, you're really good at cooking! Clap clap~]

The unannounced sound of applause ca from behind, causing Yutsuki's shaking hand to pause slightly in mid-air. Slowly setting the wok down, Yutsuki turned off the gas and slowly turned around.

"Yahallo~ Long ti no see... Even though I say that, we actually just t last night, didn't we,Ryougi Yutsuki-san~~"

Wearing the sa black nun's habit with an inverted cross as last night, Arusu Marina appeared behind Yutsuki at so point, waving at her and speaking very friendlily.

"Phew... I won't even comnt on that greeting you learned from who knows where... So, what brings you here?"

After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Yutsuki looked at this uninvited guest with a hint of vigilance and asked in a low voice.

"My~ You don't have to be so tense~" The girl nad Arusu Marina winked her right eye at Yutsuki and said in a sowhat playful tone, "I just heard you guys were having a cooking contest, so I planned to sneak a bite while acting as a judge."

"...If that's the case, unfortunately, the cooking contest just ended."

"Eh, eh?!! How could that be?! Am I late?!"

"..."

The corners of Yutsuki's mouth twitched slightly. Looking at Marina, who was maliciously acting cute towards her, she sighed speechlessly, shook her head, and replied, "Please don't play dumb with here. What do you want with ?"

This black-haired Arusu in front of her possessed higher managent permissions over this electronic world than the white-haired Arusu beside Shido. Logically speaking, no matter what happened in this world, she would absolutely know about it imdiately. If she really wanted to co, there was no way she would be late.

Then, it could only an she didn't plan on letting the others know of her existence, and only appeared in front of her when she was aiming for her alone.

"Well... to say I have business with you isn't quite accurate." Marina let out a sowhat helpless chuckle, shrugged her shoulders, and said, "It's just that I've grown a bit curious about you, Ryougi Yutsuki, so I ca over to observe you."

Stare—

Yutsuki stared intently into Marina's bright golden eyes, while the other party looked back at Yutsuki with a smile, not caring at all.

"Alright... suit yourself."

Although she couldn't figure out an artificial intelligence's thought process, since she didn't seem to have any hostility at the mont, Yutsuki could only sigh helplessly and continue her work.

"Ugh... Yutsuki~ Is it done yet? I'm hungry..."

From the living room ca Tohka's wail, sounding like she was about to faint from hunger. Yutsuki hurriedly took off her apron, took out bowls and a rice paddle from the cupboard, opened the lid, and served the rice.

"Geez, it's almost done, just bear with it a little longer."

"Hey... Ryougi Yutsuki, could it be you're the Spirits's... mom?"

Marina sat on the side, resting her chin on her hands, watching Yutsuki bustling about, and asked sowhat curiously.

Hearing Arusu's words, Yutsuki slipped and almost dropped the served rice.

"Please watch what you say..."

Yutsuki looked at Marina with an exasperated expression. Although from a bystander's perspective it did look like that, from Yutsuki's standpoint, being evaluated like this gave her the urge to flip countless tables.

"Pfft—! As expected, you're just as interesting as Itsuka Shido."

After a snort of laughter, Marina ntioned a point that caught Yutsuki's attention.

"You've t Shido?"

"Mhm, a little later yesterday evening, and just now when I ca over." Marina waved her hand, saying sowhat amusedly, "But Itsuka Shido seed to mistake for that child. He even tried to tell to go ho just now... It's so funny."

...Although the two look exactly alike, their hair color and clothing are completely different. What kind of IQ does Shido have to mistake them for the sa person? (Shido: "Achoo!")

"Then... let taste Ryougi Yutsuki's cooking..." Before Yutsuki could answer, Marina took a bowl of fried rice from the tray without permission, took a bite with a spoon, and holding her cheeks, showed an intoxicated expression, "Mhm~! You'd definitely make a good wife."

"...That last sentence was unnecessary. Also, that's my portion!"

Yutsuki said in dissatisfaction. If she wasn't holding the tray with both hands, she would have definitely given her an unforgettable lesson.

"Honey~... my stomach is so hungry I can't take it anymore..."

"Ah, ah?! It'll be ready in a second!"

While Yutsuki was answering Miku, Marina took the opportunity to widen the distance between them, and brilliant light particles began to appear on her body.

"Well... that's all for today. Bye-bye~"

Then, the light particles ford two halos circling Marina. When the two halos rged, Marina vanished silently.

"Tch, she got away..."

Yutsuki clicked her tongue, then let out a troubled, long sigh.

"The goal of that AI... is really hard to guess."

If the white haired Arusu was like a well behaved and quiet dosticated white cat, then the black haired Arusu was like a free spirited and cunning black cat wandering in the wild.

"Speaking of which... since the black-haired Arusu is nad Marina, then what is the white haired Arusu nad?"

This question accidentally popped into her mind, but before Yutsuki had ti to think more about it, the wails of Tohka, the Yamai, and the others made Yutsuki hurriedly bring the midnight snack over.

At this ti, Itsuka Shido was still running on the empty streets, looking around, constantly searching for Arusu's figure.

Although he had already found Arusu once at the park earlier, her state at that ti seed a bit off. After saying so inexplicable things to him, she suddenly disappeared.

Geez, where did she run off to?

Even though this was indeed the world managed by Arusu, it was already quite late, so Shido couldn't help but feel a trace of anxiety in his heart.

Running through the school, the shopping district, and every place he knew. Finally, on an extrely remote road, Shido saw the white-haired girl he had been searching for for a long ti.

"Found her! Hey, Arusu! You really... I looked for you for a long ti."

Resting his hands on his sowhat weak knees, after calming his rapid breathing, Shido asked slowly.

"...Itsuka Shido? Are you looking for ?"

"Yeah... You suddenly disappeared, what's wrong? Running off to a place like this?"

Arusu closed her eyes. After pondering for a mont, she answered slowly with a sowhat uncertain tone:

"I... have been here looking at the starry sky. Does that count as a correct answer?"

"Stars?"

But I just saw you in the park... He was about to ask this question. But feeling so sense of incongruity, Shido didn't say it out loud in the end.

"Yes... I want to know, is there a difference between the position of the stars seen from the Itsuka house and from here?"

Hearing Arusu's thought, Shido couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"No, it should be about the sa. After all, the stars are so far away from our position... Well, if we went to another country or the Southern Hemisphere, it would be a different story."

"Yes, the position of the stars has barely changed..." Halfway through her sentence, a trace of hesitation appeared on Arusu's plain face. After pausing for a mont, she finally said, "...However, there are still other things that are changing."

"Hm?"

"...I said so irrelevant things. Please don't mind them."

After speaking, Arusu raised her head again and looked at the sky. Looking at the night sky dotted with scattered stars and moonlight, as if captivated, she remained silent for a long ti.

Shido scratched his cheek sowhat troubledly. Although it was late and better to go back, seeing Arusu's focused look, Shido gave up on trying to persuade her. He stood beside her, quietly admiring this night sky with her.

"...It's really incredible. Looking at the stars with soone feels completely different."

Arusu spoke slowly, with an emotion she herself couldn't understand.

"Well, since the ti is different from back then, maybe it's a matter of ti."

"Is that so... I don't really understand..."

When saying this, for so unknown reason, Arusu looked at him with eyes that faintly revealed dissatisfaction.

"Um... the thing you said you wanted to do earlier, was it this?"

"...What thing are you talking about?"

Seeing Arusu's confused expression, Shido could basically confirm that the Arusu he t earlier and the current Arusu were probably not the sa person.

"Arusu... is there another Arusu in this world?"

"...The aning of the question cannot be understood?"

"Ah, no, no, it's nothing."

Seeing Arusu looking completely confused, Shido shook his head and didn't dwell on this topic.

"...I am defined as Arusu in the data... but..."

Arusu's tone carried a hint of confusion.

"Arusu should be my surna. If so, I should have a na... If I did, maybe it would be better... I don't really understand."

"You don't rember your na?"

"I don't know... maybe I forgot... or maybe I don't have one..."

Arusu looked up, gazing at the bright full moon in the sky, and answered in an extrely faint voice.

Arusu doesn't have a na? Shido thought in surprise.

However, thinking about it carefully, she had always referred to herself as Arusu in front of everyone, and because of various things happening, Shido and the others hadn't had the ti to ask her na, which is why they hadn't noticed this. It wasn't really surprising.

Knowing everything about this world, yet knowing nothing about herself?

Looking at the trace of disappointnt hidden on Arusu's tranquil face, Shido's heart was slightly touched.

"Speaking of which... during the cooking battle, you were the one who asked Yutsuki to give that bavarois, right?"

Arusu gently nodded.

"Mhm. Considering the portion size of the dishes was so massive, I decided to make so food to help with digestion."

"I see... that was really delicious. Although it was a bit amateurish... it had a very gentle taste."

"A gentle... taste?"

"Mhm, it was a dish very much in Arusu's style. So in the cooking battle—I chose Arusu's dessert."

Hearing Shido's words, Arusu's face, usually tranquil like lake water, showed so surprise. Seeming to confirm she hadn't heard wrong, Arusu repeated it over and over.

"Chose... ? Itsuka Shido... chose ? I... was chosen..."

"Mhm, is that no good?"

Seeing Arusu like this, Shido asked sowhat uneasily. However, Arusu imdiately denied it.

"No, it's just... it's an incredible feeling."

"Is that so, that's good. Ahem! Although it's a bit weird to bring it up for this reason..." Shido secretly sighed in relief. After coughing, he said sowhat nervously, "As a congratulation for winning, I thought of a na for you... Maria, what do you think?"

"...Eh!?"

Arusu seed not to understand Shido's words. She fell into a strange pause, then her beautiful eyes unconsciously widened.

"O-Of course! This is just sothing I suddenly thought of... because you look very much like a nun, and it fits that impression very well... If you don't like it..."

"No. This is fine." Arusu shook her head. Carrying an emotion called joy, she closed her eyes, and spoke as if savoring it, "Maria... Arusu Maria. My... na."

For the first ti, Shido saw such a joyful smile appear on this girl's face.

"Then, Shido, please call Maria from now on."

"I got it. Maria, then please call everyone by their nas from now on too. That way I... everyone will definitely be very happy."

"I understand... Shido..."

Softly saying this na, Maria paused for a mont, then once again peeked out to look at the deep starry sky.

"As expected... the night sky is really beautiful."

Shido looked at the night sky and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"That's true..."

Maria gently closed her eyes, quietly bathing in the moonlight. After a long ti, she opened her eyes, looking at the stars hanging in the sky, and a reassured smile appeared on her tranquil face.

"As expected... it has changed..."