A dark, empty, unknown space.
Inside that space, Len, the spirit who granted wishes, was thinking about the unwelcome guest.
"Who would have thought one more person could get in? Was that all because of her?"
At first, she thought it was the influence of that damned spirit who had created her, but she quickly changed her mind and shook her head.
There could be no connection between Higakieta Hai and that spirit.
Higakieta Hai was practically an alien presence in this world.
"There definitely wasn’t one."
He had suddenly appeared at some point, and before that, he had not existed in this world at all.
Nothing more than an intruder brought about by a distortion in space.
And yet, because he was an intruder, he was someone she had to be more careful with than anyone else.
"That darkness inside him... that deep, bottomless abyss was definitely not of this world."
That was Len’s assessment after seeing through Hieta with the information her body received, even while wearing restraints.
The darkness sleeping within his body was something that could not exist in this world, and even if it did, it was so vast that a spirit would have to reverse over and over again just to match it.
It made no sense for an ordinary human to be carrying something like that around.
"And on top of that, he’s connected to those girls."
Those other children created by her disgusting, loathsome mother were linked to Hieta.
Whether it was something Hieta had sealed, or something caused by the souls used when reconstructing his body, the connection was definitely there.
"Higakieta Hai, if I only had your power..."
If she could swallow the massive power similar to the spiritual power inside Hieta, and even the abyss deeper within it, then ruining her mother’s plan would be easy. Better yet, dealing with her directly would be no problem either.
"Can you bring back the dead, huh..."
The scope of the wish he had asked her about.
What she had seen in those eyes was nothing but feelings steeped in regret, reluctance, and longing.
She couldn’t see it clearly, but she could feel it. If she touched that part properly, then Hieta would wish, absorb that power, and make her plan even more certain.
"If there’s one thing that bothers me, it’s whether that intruder can even make a wish..."
Hieta was, after all, just an intruder, an alien presence. Even if he made a wish, the problem was whether it would actually come true.
Since she wasn’t sure whether her power would work properly on someone like him, someone just as irregular as she was, she would need to approach this carefully.
"Still, what should I do about those girls...?"
They had not met yet, but once she did meet the ones created by her mother, they would surely feel a sense of kinship and realize her identity.
It might not be a bad idea to get there first and seal them before that happened.
"But my chance is only once now. There’s no need to waste it on that."
Since this was her last chance, she had to use it more carefully and to her advantage.
"Then let’s see. What is your wish, I wonder?"
With those words, Len disappeared from the unknown space.
*
Itsuka Shido visited the shrine where he had met Len once again.
He didn’t even know why himself. He had just followed his feet and ended up there.
If he had to guess, it was probably because he had once wished here for everyone to be happy, and because this was the place where he had first met Len.
More than anything, since this was a place for making wishes, some part of him probably thought a good wish might come to mind here without him realizing it.
Wasn’t that putting the cart before the horse?
Coming to a place for making wishes in order to think of a wish was completely backward.
"I need to figure out some kind of plan before Len shows up in my dreams again tonight..."
"Oh? Was that a summons?"
Someone answered his muttered words.
Startled by the voice, Shido turned around, and there was Len, wearing a friendly smile.
"Le, Len!? Why are you here!?"
"Why? That’s quite the dramatic greeting. We met here before, didn’t we? Besides, you said it yourself, didn’t you? Wait until tomorrow to tell me your wish."
Len spread both arms wide and spoke to Shido.
"Now then, it’s the promised day. Tell me your wish. I’ll grant any three wishes you want."
At Len’s request, Shido held out a hand in confusion and opened his mouth.
"W-wait a second. Didn’t that mean you’d show up in my dreams again tonight?"
They had met the second time in a dream, and she had asked about his wish in that dream, so Shido had naturally assumed she would appear in his dreams again today.
That was why he had been taking his time thinking about it, but the other party had shown up at this hour, as if refusing to give him any chance at all.
So he asked in confusion, but Len simply shrugged as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
"Nobody said that. Unless... is there some reason it has to be tonight?"
Shido couldn’t give a proper answer to that question.
If he said he still hadn’t decided on a wish here, Len might leave.
But Len, apparently not intending to give Shido time to think, kept going.
"I, for one, would rather hear your wish than have you consult with someone else."
"...!"
Rather than consulting with someone else, she wanted to hear Shido’s wish.
That meant she knew Shido had been thinking about what wish to make with Kotori and Hieta on [Fraxinus].
It might have been a bluff, but at the very least, she had some idea.
"If you don’t have a wish, that’s fine too. You must be a very happy person."
Len’s words made Shido relax for a moment.
Since she said it was fine, he thought at least she wouldn’t leave.
However, Len’s words did not end there.
"Then I’ll just leave."
Shido couldn’t relax at all after that thinly veiled threat, as if she would leave if he didn’t make a wish.
He didn’t know whether she meant it or whether she was up to something, but after saying it with that sly smile, Shido had no choice but to decide on a wish here.
Think. What wish should he make?
Shido used his brain to the limit and thought hard.
Len watched him with a meaningful smile, looking very much like a serpent tempting an innocent Eve.
"My wish is..."
After a brief moment filled with countless thoughts, Shido made his decision.
"...I’ve decided, Len."
"Oh? Oh? Wonderful. Then tell me. Your wish. Your desire, dressed up in hope and longing."
"Yeah. I want... to introduce Len to the others."
"........................What?"
*
"So because of that wish, the two of us and I are here now?"
"Yep."
At Itsuka-kun’s words, I slapped my forehead in admiration.
Who asks someone to make a wish and then says they want to introduce them to other people?
I could really understand why Len looked so taken aback.
"Shido! Good to see you!"
"What on earth is going on?"
The ones who had been called along with me were Tohka and Tobiichi.
They seemed to think Itsuka-kun had called them, but judging by his reaction, he clearly hadn’t expected this at all.
In that case, this was probably the first pattern the commander had mentioned: a wish that really did come true exactly as stated.
Because of that, Itsuka-kun’s wish was fulfilled and the two of them came to the shrine.
I naturally assumed Itsuka-kun had called them by text himself.
"Well, there’s someone I wanted to introduce you to."
"Someone you wanted to introduce...?"
"Yeah. Let me introduce you. This is Len. She’s a new spirit."
As Itsuka-kun called her name, Len appeared behind him.
"Hey there. Nice to meet you, I guess?"
"What! A new spirit!? I am Yatogami Tohka! Call me Tohka! My favorite thing is bean-paste bread!"
"...Tobiichi Origami. My favorite thing is Shido. Nice to meet you."
"That’s supposed to be the part where you say your favorite food..."
At Tobiichi’s ever-constant love, Itsuka-kun let out a long sigh and muttered.
"My favorite food is Shido."
"Hey!? What are you doing changing it like that!?"
Then Tobiichi heard that and twisted the words even more strangely, leaving Itsuka-kun with no choice but to lose his mind over it.
"There’s no problem at all. In a way, it’s the right answer."
I thought it was dangerous either way, whether she meant it metaphorically or literally.
"What do you mean...?"
Seeing that, I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.
At least there wasn’t anyone around me with that much stalker energy.
Well, there is one girl who’s obsessed with turning into a woman, but let’s just leave that aside.
"I’m Len. Nice to meet you. Though I don’t know if we’ll be able to meet again after this. As for what I like... I can’t think of anything in particular."
After Len finished introducing herself, Tohka’s eyes sparkled as she said, "Mm! Is that so? That’s nice!"
"What...?"
"If you can’t think of something you like, that means you might come to like something from now on! Right?"
"...Wow."
Honestly, Tohka didn’t seem like she had the intelligence to say something like that, but hearing it from her made her look pretty cool.
I’d always thought of her as someone who just loved food too much, so I hadn’t expected her to sound that impressive.
"Could be... I suppose it would be more elegant to think of it that way."
Maybe Len was convinced by Tohka’s words, because she said that, and it made Tohka seem like she had a real talent for talking.
If she kept learning more, maybe she’d become better at speaking than anyone else.
Or maybe she was just pure enough right now to say things like that.
"Mm! Then first, I’ll let you eat some of my favorite bean-paste bread! You might come to like it!"
Maybe she really was just a glutton after all?
"So we have time now!?"
When Tohka asked with even brighter eyes, Len broke into a troubled sweat.
Len showing that kind of reaction... When I first saw her, she had seemed a little noble and refined, like a proper young lady.
"No, I..."
"Actually, I’m too free to do anything else. Let’s head out right now. Is that okay, Len?"
"...My, my. I can’t win against that. Fine. I’ll count that as part of your wish too."
Unable to refuse after Itsuka-kun stopped her, Len reluctantly agreed to go along.
As for me, I was basically stuck following them anyway, so I had to go with Tohka to the shop selling bean-paste bread.
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