[You’re ready, right, Hiki?]
“Why did it have to be at that exact timing...?”
Originally, our plan was for Itsuka-kun to make the first move, and if he failed, I’d step in.
But of all things, he’d gotten a stomachache at the most ridiculous possible time, and things had automatically shifted so that I was the one doing the approach.
[You can complain all you want, but it won’t change anything. If Shido goes in while he’s sick, the chances of failure only go up.]
“You’re not wrong, so I don’t really have anything to say.”
Since the commander wasn’t wrong, I stopped complaining and looked around.
The place I’d been sent to was a crumbling amusement park.
“Talk about killing the mood.”
With already-broken rides, empty space with no people in sight, and the orange glow of sunset dyeing the sky, it was enough to make the whole place feel like an apocalypse.
[That amusement park was shut down after the great disaster. It even got cut from the redevelopment plans, so it’s just been left alone ever since.]
So that was why all the surrounding buildings looked like they’d been wrecked.
The great disaster the commander was talking about was the Eurasian Catastrophe from thirty years ago, a massive spatial quake that was so severe part of the map supposedly disappeared because of it.
And it was after that disaster that spatial quakes were observed as a natural phenomenon.
‘Maybe this world would’ve ended up like Dark Souls.’
If it hadn’t been discovered that spatial quakes were the work of spirits, and if Itsuka-kun hadn’t been born with the ability to seal those spirits, I couldn’t help but think this world might have been heading straight toward destruction.
Well, maybe it would’ve somehow kept going thanks to those machines called Realizers.
[The manifested spirit seems to have moved from the site of the spatial quake to somewhere nearby. Contact her quickly before AST arrives.]
“Roger.”
Following the commander’s orders, I started looking around more carefully.
As expected, all I could see were collapsing ruins and rides that looked like they were barely holding themselves together.
If there was anything else, it was a pumpkin....
“A pumpkin?”
[What are you talking about?]
“There’s a pumpkin here.”
[A pumpkin?]
“And not just that, a few normal-looking buildings suddenly popped up here too...?”
Starting with the pumpkin, things like a castle and ordinary houses had sprung up all over the place.
Since they were clearly things that hadn’t been here before, I figured this had to be the spirit’s doing.
[There’s a faint spirit wave reaction nearby.]
[It’s probably a phenomenon related to the spirit’s power.]
After hearing the other crew members, it was officially confirmed that this really was the spirit’s doing.
That meant the spirit was nearby, so if I looked around a little more, I should be able to find her.
“Oh my~”
And sure enough, I found her not long after.
“This is unusual. To think I’d be dragged here and meet someone other than AST.”
The spirit was standing atop what looked like a castle, backlit by the setting sun and using it like a spotlight as she looked down at me.
And her outfit was like something a witch would wear.
“Heehee.”
The spirit smiled at me and lightly floated down.
Her green hair and black-violet cloak fluttered in the wind, giving her an eerie air.
At last, she landed in front of me and met my eyes.
“You don’t need to be scared. I’m not going to eat you or anything.”
“......”
Still dazed from the spirit’s sudden appearance, I just stared at her while she grabbed my chin and lifted my face.
“Hee~ You’re pretty handsome. What were you doing in a place like this? The alarm definitely went off when the spirit appeared, didn’t it?”
“Uh....”
[Hiki! It’s a choice!]
As I struggled to figure out how to answer the spirit’s question, a choice appeared.
I could’ve sworn I’d heard before that Maria and Marina were no longer AI in [Fraxinus] and had become independent, so they wouldn’t be interfering with the choices anymore.
That only made this more unnerving.
What kind of ridiculous option was I going to get this time?
[Hiki, it’s 2!]
I was doomed.
Of all things, it had to be 2.
[Try to keep a cold expression and speak in an arrogant tone.]
What did 2 mean, exactly....
“What is it?”
“......”
I took a deep breath in my head, then looked at the spirit with the most expressionless face I could manage.
“...Hoh. You dare lay a hand on my body?”
That was option 2.
I wanted to scream from the sheer humiliation I felt, but I had to endure it as best I could because the spirit in front of me came first.
“Oh my, did you not like being touched?”
The spirit didn’t seem flustered by my tone at all and simply took her hand away from my chin.
[Hiki. Keep acting.]
“It’s not that I dislike it, but I’m a little displeased. Still, I’ll answer your question about what I was doing here.”
After a short pause, I spoke calmly.
“I don’t know. My memory seems to be gone.”
When the spirit heard that, her expression changed just a little.
For a brief moment, I saw one eyebrow twitch like she was looking at a lunatic.
Of course, the movement stopped right away.
“I see. And your name?”
“...My name is Higakieta Hai.”
“Hai-kun, then. What a nice name. I’m Natsumi. It seems you people call me [Witch].”
At Natsumi’s words, I almost panicked for a second.
She’d said “you people,” so I couldn’t tell whether she meant humans in general or specifically me and the people on [Fraxinus].
Still, I was confident in my acting too.
“Natsumi... is that what I should call you?”
“That’s nice. Not awkward at all.”
Apparently my tone wasn’t bothering her, because she nodded.
Well, if it had bothered her, the commander would’ve already said my favorability had dropped.
Not that I had any favorability to begin with.
“Hey, Hai-kun. There’s something I want to ask you, if that’s okay....”
The spirit named Natsumi stepped closer and stopped right in front of me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
For a moment, a thought crossed my mind.
‘Is she a red mask or something?’
What kind of question was that, asking someone out of nowhere to judge her looks?
Was that seriously something she could say with a straight face?
“I think you’re extremely pretty.”
The spirits I’d seen so far were, by default, all beautiful in their own way.
The commander didn’t really strike me as especially gorgeous, but objectively she was on the cute side.
If even the commander was like that, there was no need to say more about the other spirits.
The spirit in front of me now was also undeniably beautiful.
“Really!? Specifically? Hai-kun! What part of me is so pretty?”
Apparently this spirit was starved for compliments, because the moment I told her she was pretty, she suddenly grabbed my shoulders and leaned in closer.
I almost froze for a second because my brain couldn’t keep up with what was happening, but I managed to recover and keep acting.
“Do you even need to ask?”
It might’ve been rude to describe it so specifically, but if that was what she wanted, then I supposed I should give it to her.
I met Natsumi’s eyes and started telling her, one thing at a time, in detail.
“First, your eyes. Those elegant, shining green eyes are like looking at emeralds.”
“And?”
This time, partly to get back at her for what she’d done earlier, I took Natsumi by the chin.
“This smooth skin is beautiful enough on its own. Your distinct features are, too.”
Then, with the hand that had been holding her chin, I brushed through Natsumi’s hair.
“And this flowing green hair is beautiful as well, like silk.”
[Wow, he’s good.]
Shut up, commander.
I don’t even know what I’m saying right now either.
“Is that enough of an answer?”
When I asked that a little uneasily, Natsumi hugged me.
“Of course! Hai-kun really knows what he’s talking about!”
“......”
Her sudden physical contact, with no warning at all, made my face heat up.
Honestly, it was so abrupt that it almost broke the acting I was doing.
So I couldn’t say anything and just stood there, and then I heard Natsumi mutter,
“...As expected, I’m pretty now....”
The way she said now sounded strange.
I’m me, so what did she mean by now?
While I was still thinking about Natsumi’s words, the commander’s voice slammed into my eardrums.
[Hiki! AST!]
Just like the commander said, I could see several figures in the sky.
They were obviously AST, and the moment they saw me and Natsumi, they immediately attacked.
Missiles heading straight for us.
Just as I prepared to move, Natsumi held out a hand to stop me.
“It’s fine.”
Light gathered in her hand and began taking the shape of a staff.
Before long, the staff spun around Natsumi and settled into her hand.
“Time to work, [Haniel (False Witch)]!”
At Natsumi’s words, the staff transformed into a broom.
When Natsumi planted the broom in the ground, a bright light burst out around her and turned every missile heading our way into carrots.
The missiles-turned-carrots twisted off in bizarre directions before falling to the ground and exploding weakly.
“This is...?”
“Here~!”
On top of that, when Natsumi swung the broom once, rainbows and stars burst out from it and transformed the AST members’ CR-Units into animal pajamas.
“What the hell is going on――kyah!”
With their CR-Units gone, the AST members began falling from the sky.
Luckily, thanks to Natsumi’s power, they weren’t injured and instead drifted down slowly, crashing into one another and losing consciousness.
Stunned by how strangely peaceful the whole thing had been, I could only stare blankly when Natsumi’s voice came from beside me.
“Come on, Hai-kun. Let’s get out of here while we can, okay? You’ll praise me even more, right?”
“...If that’s what you want.”
Since I was in the position of having to approach the spirit no matter what, I nodded and decided to go along with whatever Natsumi wanted as much as possible.
And right as I did, a carrot we hadn’t noticed fell from the sky near us.
The dirt it kicked up made me squint, and my vision narrowed until I couldn’t see Natsumi properly anymore.
“Achoo!”
Then I heard Natsumi sneeze, and just as I was about to ask if she was okay, bad news came in.
[Hiki, emergency! Natsumi’s mood value is dropping rapidly!]
“So that’s what this is....”
Her mood value dropping quickly, plus Natsumi’s reaction, made it clear that I’d seen whatever she was trying to hide.
However, I hadn’t actually seen anything because of the dust.
“What?”
“Don’t deny it! Just now, my...! I won’t forgive you.... I’m not letting this go that easily...!”
After saying that, Natsumi pointed at me and made a declaration.
“Higakieta Hai! I’m going to end your life!”
Natsumi immediately flew up into the sky on her broom.
Seeing a little moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes, it was obvious something had happened.
But I really hadn’t seen anything.
At a complete loss, I could only look up at the sky where Natsumi had flown off.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register