Chapter 36 36: Nii-sama

In the afternoon, inside the AST Tengu City Base, a tense meeting was taking place.

Because Yatogami Tohka and Yakumo Mikoto looked far too similar to the Spirits Princess and Miko, several AST observation devices had been hidden around Raizen High School. Even though Tohka and Mikoto's readings stayed within the range of normal humans, today, an existence that was unmistakably a Spirit based on her readings had appeared.

"Code name... Nightmare."

It was a joke that wasn't funny at all. An existence capable of wiping out humanity had enrolled in the high school as a transfer student. Just realizing this fact was enough to send a chill down Kusakabe Ryouko's spine.

Unlike Miko, who simply freeloaded at a shrine, transferring into a high school required a family register, a certificate of residence, and all sorts of other paperwork.

An entity that could slaughter the world had bypassed spacequake detection entirely and perfectly integrated into human society. The only thing that could match how unsettling this felt was when Princess and Miko teamed up to save Hermit a while back.

No, even compared to that, Nightmare was much, much worse. After all... she was a Spirit who had personally killed over ten thousand people.

Of course, it wasn't just bad news for the AST, like Spirits teaming up or Nightmare appearing. Just recently, a Top Ace had joined their unit.

Takamiya Mana. A Wizard who had allegedly killed Spirits single-handedly, she had come to the Tengu City AST base specifically to hunt Nightmare.

[Still... I didn't expect her to be such a young kid...] Ryouko thought.

With a blue ponytail, sharp facial features, and a beauty mark under her left eye, she looked like nothing more than a middle school student.

"The operation will take place after Raizen High ends for the day, in the residential district. Once Nightmare enters an unpopulated area, several AST members will deploy their Territory to restrict the target's movements, and Mana will lead the main attack. Does that work?"

Ryouko outlined a simple combat strategy. If time allowed, she would have preferred to hunt Nightmare with a much more cautious plan. But even though Mana was a squad member, she had special permission from the higher-ups to act independently. Worse still, that kid had decided to kill Nightmare today no matter what.

Even though Ryouko had countless complaints about a soldier who didn't have to follow a captain's orders, to prevent Mana from running in and fighting completely alone, she scheduled the operation for this afternoon.

"Please leave it to me. Dealing with 'that' is my specialty."

Mana nodded, her face showing absolutely zero pressure, as if she were completely used to it.

"..."

On the other side of the meeting room, Tobiichi Origami frowned slightly. Nightmare's appearance was a headache, but what Origami cared about most was the fact that the Spirit had entered Raizen High School.

Even though she hadn't reported it to Ryouko due to a lack of solid evidence, Origami knew perfectly well that Yakumo Mikoto and Yatogami Tohka were true Spirits.

This made the situation much more complicated. Did Nightmare enroll in Raizen High to form an alliance with Princess and Miko?

[Or maybe... Yatogami Tohka and Yakumo Mikoto are Nightmare's targets.]

Origami was a bit worried that Mikoto—who, despite being a Spirit, wouldn't attack humans unprovoked—might run into the most wicked and evil Spirit while completely off guard.

[...Forget it...]

Although she wanted to warn Yakumo Mikoto to watch out for Nightmare, Origami figured there was no need to worry about an enemy. What's more... if the operation went smoothly, that so-called "worst Spirit" would be history by tomorrow.

"Captain, could I ask you for a favor?"

After the meeting ended, Mana approached Ryouko.

"Yes? Is there a problem with the operation plan?"

"The operation plan is fine whatever it is. I want to take another look at the combat footage from the battle against Hermit a while back," Mana said.

Mana had zero worries about hunting Nightmare. Instead, something—or someone—in the footage of the battle with Hermit had caught her full attention.

[Nii... sama...]

It was a sudden, completely unexpected reunion that Mana had never dared to dream of.

_______________________

"Look, Shido, we made it just in time for the ground meat sale."

Taking advantage of the 30-second window before the army of housewives arrived on the battlefield, Mikoto rushed to the counter selling discounted ground meat.

"Yeah, we're really lucky."

After explaining that Kurumi was a Spirit, Shido had barely managed to avoid a very embarrassing feeding play. But in exchange, he had to go grocery shopping at the supermarket with Mikoto after showing Kurumi around the school.

"Ground meat... what should we make?"

"How about the meatballs from lunch? Kotori will definitely love them."

Because they were so incredibly delicious, Shido felt he wouldn't mind eating the same dish for lunch and dinner.

[Except for the chili powder ones] he noted internally.

"Hmm... It's probably better to avoid repeating dishes. But meatballs are a good idea. Hey, Shido, do you like Chinese food?"

"Chinese food? That sounds pretty good too."

Shido felt that whatever food Mikoto made was something to look forward to.

"Alright, it's decided then. Next up is crab..."

After buying the ground meat, Mikoto and Shido headed to the seafood section. Inside the tanks, a large number of freshwater crabs were crawling around.

"Today's crabs look really fresh— Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Shido, who had absentmindedly stuck his hand into the tank, got pinched hard by a claw.

"They really are fresh, aren't they."

Seeing Shido frantically blowing on his finger, Mikoto couldn't help but laugh.

"To avenge Shido, let's buy them all and eat them!"

As a result, they bought a massive amount of fresh crabs.

"Next is fish, and some greens..."

The two bought quite a few things in the supermarket, and then happily began their walk home.

"How did things go with Kurumi?" Mikoto asked.

She had been genuinely surprised when she heard Kurumi was a Spirit. A Spirit who had met Shido five years ago and actively came looking for him... it felt like there was a very deep hidden story behind it.

"I still don't get it. When I showed her around the school this afternoon, she said she met me during the Tengu City fire five years ago. But honestly, I can't remember anything about the fire at all."

Shido scratched his cheek. Even though he guessed it had something to do with his lost memories, he truly had no impression of Kurumi whatsoever.

"Is that so? Then don't overthink it. Things will work themselves out when the time comes.

But, Shido..."

"Hmm?"

Shido turned his head and saw a worried look on Mikoto's face.

"Please be very careful around Tokisaki Kurumi."

"Eh?" Shido didn't understand why Mikoto was warning him to be careful.

"Because her motives are completely unknown. No matter how you look at it, that girl doesn't seem like she just came to catch up with an old friend, Shido."

Mikoto shook her head. If Shido's goal in approaching Spirits was to save them, then what was Kurumi's goal in approaching Shido?

"Yeah. But as long as she is a Spirit, I'll save her."

Even though he didn't know what Kurumi was planning, as long as the fact remained that "Spirits cause spacequakes," Shido's resolve wouldn't change.

"As expected of Shido." Mikoto nodded. Even though she told him to be careful, she knew Shido would never abandon a Spirit.

"I finally found you!!"

Just as the two were chatting, a small girl suddenly appeared in front of them. She had a blue ponytail, sharp features, and a beauty mark just under her left eye.

"Someone you know, Shido?"

"N-No... I don't know her."

Mikoto and Shido looked at each other in confusion.

"Nii..."

The girl looked like she was trying to say something.

"Nii?"

The two of them tilted their heads.

"Nii-sama!!!"

"Ehh!!!"

As the young girl leaped straight into Shido's arms, both Mikoto and Shido let out a shout of pure shock.

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