"────In other words, there are only two ways humans can deal with a Spirit that causes a Spacequake. One is annihilation through force, like those AST girls do. And the other is the method Ratatoskr uses-"
"Using Shido’s body, which can seal spiritual power, to raise a Spirit’s favorability and then kiss her, right? So to put it simply... you make her fall for you on a date, then kiss her right away?"
Kotori clapped, saying I was quick on the uptake. When I first saw this in the anime, I’d thought it was a pretty wild idea, but hearing the explanation right in front of me made me think it was completely insane.
"And Ratatoskr is an organization created to thoroughly support Shido’s dates."
"..............."
"………I understand how you feel, so please don’t look at me like that."
When I gave her a strange look, Shido said that with the expression of a man who had already seen the end of his life.
"……How do you feel about Ratatoskr, this amazing organization, making a harem for you?"
"Th, that’s not it!?"
"Well, if someone who doesn’t know any better heard that, I guess they might think that."
"Kotori?!"
Shido reacted strongly to my teasing remark, his face turning red, and Kotori, seated in the commander’s chair, muttered that she couldn’t really argue with it before tossing out a line of her own.
"But leaving aside the part where Shido makes Spirits fall for him on dates, why are you sending me down to the field too?"
I asked that with a face that clearly said I didn’t get it.
To seal a Spirit’s spiritual power, Shido absolutely had to go on a date with her, and raising the Spirit’s favorability toward Shido was an unavoidable part of that process. This was already a plan that might or might not succeed even if Shido went alone and got all the support he could from behind the scenes, so if they sent along someone who didn’t seem like they’d be much help anyway, would the work of raising Shido’s favorability really go smoothly?
As I was thinking that, Kotori rolled the candy in her mouth and answered my question.
Kotori held up two fingers.
"There are two reasons. First. You said you talked with [Hermit], right?"
"Yeah, I mentioned that earlier."
"That means you’re at least somewhat familiar with [Hermit], then?"
"Yeah."
Lowering one of the fingers she’d held up, Kotori continued.
"I don’t know whether [Hermit] knows this, but she’s the kind of Spirit who, to put it nicely, is gentle, and to put it badly, is a coward. Of course, our reliable Ratatoskr crew will be supporting you from behind the scenes, but from [Hermit]’s perspective, if Shido suddenly shows up, she’s going to be wary, right? So I want you, since you at least know her, to show up and act as the bridge between [Hermit] and Shido."
"So... you want me to be some kind of matchmaker?"
At that, Kotori nodded and folded down her remaining finger.
"The second reason is to prevent unexpected incidents. You’re not a Spirit, but you do have the combat power to fight Tohka on equal footing, right? I want you to make full use of that ability and prepare for any sudden trouble that might come up."
"Does that sudden trouble include AST too?"
"Even if AST figures out your identity, Ratatoskr will be backing you up, so there’s absolutely no need to worry. Still, if you want, should I provide a mask that covers your whole face?"
"…………Give me either one."
I started to say something, then just gave up.
It felt like things were going wrong in a pretty spectacular way, but thinking about it any further was giving me a headache, so I decided to stop caring. I should go see cute Yoshino again. Thinking that, I told Kotori to just give me a mask.
"Good thinking. I’ll make sure to give you a separate bonus for this later."
Saying that, Kotori turned her gaze back to the monitor and opened her mouth.
"Now then── let’s begin our date ‘war.’"
".............."
And as a bonus, that line made me cringe a little.
○○○
"Wow... this is amazing. I closed my eyes and opened them, and now I’m already here."
"Phew... this really is the right place, right?"
Using the transfer device installed in the lower section of [Fraxinus], Shido and I moved down to the ground. I was excited, my eyes shining at the appearance of sci-fi technology, while Shido let out a sigh and asked that into the intercom in his ear.
"Yes. The Spirit will be entering that building shortly as well. Be careful not to make any mistakes during first contact. And make sure you support him thoroughly too."
"……Okay."
"Yes Sir! Commander!"
"………How should I put this. You seem weirdly high-energy?"
Hearing my excited voice, Kotori on the other end of the intercom sounded oddly taken aback.
Honestly, I’d always liked the role of an agent receiving a mission from some secret organization and heading out to the field personally. And the situation I was in now matched that exact kind of scenario I usually loved most.
Being given a mission by Ratatoskr, and heading out to the field directly, even if only as support! On top of that, I had an intercom in my ear too, so I was getting pretty excited, like I’d become some kind of 007.
Ah, but come to think of it, what I actually had to do was play matchmaker.
……………My mood suddenly crashed.
"But it really is uncanny. It wasn’t planned in advance, so how can one mask be a skull mask and the other be a goat mask?"
I muttered that while looking at the two masks I’d brought from [Fraxinus].
Of the masks I’d brought, the skull mask felt strange because I was Sans, and the goat mask just made me think of Toriel from Undertale, which also felt strange. They’d really picked the masks with uncanny precision. I’d muttered to myself without thinking because it was so interesting, but Kotori seemed to have misunderstood my self-talk and let out an "Oh?" over the intercom.
"Oh my, if you don’t like them, I can swap them out for the one Kannazuki brought earlier."
"I don’t dislike them, I just thought it was a little interesting. More importantly, I absolutely do not want to swap for that one. Absolutely not. Never."
Remembering the mask that Vice Commander Kannazuki had brought from [Fraxinus], I nearly freaked out. The moment I’d asked for two masks, Kannazuki, who had been standing beside Kotori, had taken out the mask he was carrying and offered to lend it to me. How should I describe that mask... I won’t go into too much detail, but anyway, it was a completely perverted mask.
Yeah. The kind of mask someone playing the M role in an SM session would wear!
When that mask appeared, Kannazuki of course got hit square in the solar plexus by Kotori’s mighty elbow strike. And after taking an elbow to the gut, Kannazuki wore a very satisfied expression, looking oddly pleased.
For someone who looked that handsome, to have such a massive pervert inside.
Seriously......
"Interesting..."
I’d been a little surprised when I saw the mask, but it was interesting enough that I personally liked him for it.
"Huh? What was that?"
"Just talking to myself."
I answered Shido’s question like that.
"──Shido. [Hermit] has entered the building."
At the voice coming through the intercom, Shido tensed up. I stopped walking and put my hands in my pockets.
And at that moment.
"──You’re a bad person who came to bully Yoshinon too~...?"
"……Huh?!"
At the voice from above, Shido jumped in surprise and hurriedly looked up. I also lifted my head and turned my gaze toward where the sound had come from.
It was Yoshino. I could see Yoshino flying through the air upside down.
"Yoshinon is a good kid, so don’t bully her too much~. ......Huh, huh?"
Spinning her body in midair, Yoshino landed on both feet. Yoshinon, tucked onto her hand, clapped lightly and moved its mouth.
"Huh? If it isn’t Lucky Pervert-kun~. And the one next to him is......."
"Long time no see, Yoshinon. And Yoshino, you’ve been well too?"
As I bent my knees and greeted her, Yoshinon opened and closed its mouth as if greeting me back, and Yoshino, with Yoshinon tucked against her, also wore a faint smile and said in a small voice that she was glad to see me.
"[Hermit]’s favorability! It’s currently rising continuously! If we raise her favorability by another 100,000... the seal will succeed stably!"
"But the target of that favorability isn’t Shido-kun! The target of this favorability is... Kang Haneul!"
"What?! What did you do in Korea to already rack up 70 favorability points?!"
And from the other end of the intercom, I could hear the confused voices of the bridge crew.
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