At Itsuka-kun’s request, Tohka, Yoshino, Yoshinon, and I were riding the jungle cruise.
“Mm! This really is the jungle cruise Shido recommended!”
“I-it’s fun...”
“We can just relax while we’re at it~”
That was true. Since there wasn't much to do on the ride, we could simply sit back and take in the sights leisurely.
Watching the scenery the amusement park had meticulously crafted from a boat moving at a steady, moderate pace was more enjoyable than I had expected.
More than anything, it brought back memories of the outings I'd had with my family when I was little. It had been so long since I’d seen them, however, that their faces were beginning to blur in my mind.
Regardless, we were having a wonderful time.
“It would’ve been even better if Shido and Kotori were here too. Why aren’t they? Okay, let’s call them over!”
“No, Tohka-san...”
Yoshino stopped Tohka just as she was about to call Itsuka-kun and the commander. She was likely trying to give the two of them some privacy for their date.
“Why not? The more the merrier...”
“Th-that’s not it...”
“Well, I didn’t hear everything, but—”
While I was pondering that, Yoshinon dropped a bombshell.
Apparently, when Yoshino had stepped away earlier, she’d accidentally overheard a conversation between Itsuka-kun and Murasame-san.
The problem was the subject of that conversation. According to Murasame-san, the commander was a Spirit. I already knew a bit about that—since my idiot friend never shut up about it—but Tohka apparently hadn't known and looked visibly shocked.
“Kotori was a Spirit?!”
“It seems Shido is trying to seal Kotori’s Spirit powers, just like he did with Tohka...”
“If he fails, they don’t know what might happen to Kotori-chan, so they figured they shouldn’t interfere.”
So that was why Itsuka-kun had looked so strained when he asked us for help earlier. He had to seal away his own little sister. If the sealing failed, the consequences were unknown. That explained the look in his eyes.
“I see... Is there anything we can do? Kotori has done me a great favor. I want to help too.”
Tohka's demeanor shifted. Usually, she seemed like a gluttonous airhead, but in this moment, she looked profoundly serious.
“Besides, Kotori has this... I don’t know, scent that’s similar to Shido.”
And then she said something weird. Yeah, Tohka is better when she's weird than when she's serious.
“Ah, maybe because they use the same shampoo~? Kyahahahahaha!!!”
“For now, we just have to leave it to Shido.”
Just as Yoshino said, there wasn’t much we could do. In fact, there was nothing.
The person the commander liked was Itsuka-kun, so I couldn't even try to win her over. And since the commander was the one who needed to be sealed, the two of them couldn't be interrupted. All we could do was trust Itsuka-kun.
“Yoshino is right. We just have to trust Itsuka-kun and wait.”
“Mm. Shido will definitely handle it. He’s the man who made me fall for him.”
Tohka voiced her absolute faith in him.
Which, honestly, made sense. Tohka had been saved by Itsuka-kun, and her feelings for him were deep.
“By the way, where did Hikinon go?”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
During the cruise, he’d become too noisy, so I’d tucked him away in my inventory for a while.
Figuring he’d probably calmed down by now, I equipped Hikinon back onto my hand.
“〔Hic... You awful master. You locked me away just because I was being loud. You left me all alone in that dark space.〕”
Hikinon muttered through sniffles. But is the inventory really a dark space? Since I can’t enter it myself, I had no way of knowing what it looked like inside.
“Hikinon, what does the inside of the inventory look like?”
“〔Is that really the important thing right now...?〕”
Yeah, it is. I wanted to say that, but the looks everyone was giving me made me swallow the words. Why are you all looking at me like I’m trash?
“Ahem. Anyway, keep it down. If you do, I won’t put you away again.”
“〔That’s my specialty!〕”
Hikinon immediately perked up. The problem was that he became loud again instantly, but it was still better than before, so it was fine. Thankfully, the judgmental stares disappeared as well.
*
Time passed, and the sky gradually turned a bruised yellow. By then, Ocean Park had descended into chaos.
“What was that sudden shaking...!”
People around us were screaming and evacuating following a sudden tremor that rocked the park.
“Th-this feeling...”
“Don’t tell me it’s Kotori!”
Tohka tried to rush toward the commander, but Yoshinon grabbed her and held her back.
“What are you doing, Yoshinon!”
“No way, Tohka-chan! Right now your Spirit powers are sealed inside Shido-kun! Judging by that explosion, the enemy is insanely strong! If you go, your life will be in danger!”
As Yoshinon pointed out, Tohka’s powers were currently sealed, meaning she was no different from an ordinary human. However, I had seen another form of Tohka before—one where her armor and clothing were integrated.
“Tohka. If you’re going, you should go in that form.”
“Understood. Yoshinon, thank you for the advice. But I can’t just leave Shido alone.”
“Tohka-chan...”
Light began to radiate from Tohka’s body, and her armor manifested, blending seamlessly with her swimsuit.
“If Shido is going all out to save Kotori, then I’ll go all out to protect Shido.”
With that, Tohka took flight, soaring toward Itsuka-kun.
“Yoshinon. Can I not go too?”
“If it’s something Yoshino decided for herself, then why wouldn’t it be okay?”
With that, Yoshino also manifested her armor in a form mixed with a swimsuit.
“Good, Master! Let’s go too!”
“Yeah. We should go too.”
I pulled the high-grade knight set from my inventory, equipped it, and chased after Yoshino.
*
What we saw when we reached the source of the tremor was shocking beyond words.
Parts of the amusement park were wrecked beyond recognition. The commander was bound inside a strange barrier, and Itsuka-kun stood before her, shielding her from Tobiichi, who was attempting to attack.
“Origami!!!!”
Even as Itsuka-kun shouted, Tobiichi persisted in her assault, but Tohka swung [Sandalphon], intercepting the strike.
Immediately after, Yoshino froze the attacking section of the CR-Unit Tobiichi was wearing.
“Tohka! Yoshino! Hieta!”
“Are you both all right!”
“Yay~ That was close~! Save the thanks for later!”
“For now, let’s...”
Attacks from Tobiichi rained down from the sky. However, I wasn't particularly worried.
Crackle!
With a surge of electricity, a bow and arrows formed in my hand. Using [Miracle: Lightning Arrow], I shot down every incoming projectile, neutralizing them instantly.
“Itsuka-kun! Leave this to us and run!”
“But...!”
“It’s fine, so hurry!!!”
“We can’t hold out for long!”
“Sorry!”
Itsuka-kun scooped up the commander and began the evacuation. Seeing that, I turned my gaze back to Tobiichi.
That girl was definitely AST, so why was she attacking indiscriminately in a crowded public area? I’d heard the AST was founded to protect civilians by eliminating Spirits.
So why? Why was she acting as if the lives of ordinary people meant nothing?
And her target was the commander, of all people. Given the commander’s personality, she would never be the one to initiate a fight. In other words, Tobiichi had attacked first.
I owed the commander a debt of my own.
“Hoo. Guess I’ll have to use a little force.”
Calmly, I steadied my stance and switched my weapon to the Dragonrider Bow.
I planted the bow’s anchor into the ground, nocked an arrow, and drew the string back.
Rumble...
The string tightened slowly until it reached my ear.
My target was the equipment Tobiichi was wearing—specifically, the massive component on her back. If I hit that, I could deal some serious damage.
I released the string.
Whoosh!
The giant arrow tore through the air, screaming toward Tobiichi.
“I don’t have time to worry about you lot!”
Tobiichi deployed [Territory], creating a barrier to block the shot. Because of this, the arrow's angle shifted slightly upon impact, and it vanished after destroying only one of the unit’s barrel-like components.
“Tch!”
Even so, the result was favorable. Tobiichi began to wobble, her balance thrown off by the asymmetrical damage.
Tohka didn’t miss the opening and charged.
“Enough already, Tobiichi Origami! Even if you kill Kotori, it won’t mean anything!”
“What do you know!”
Tobiichi shouted desperately while blocking Tohka’s attack. Tohka shouted back, her voice filled with conviction.
“I know! Of course I know! Have you forgotten what you did to Shido? I was in a lot of pain back then too! I was suffering! I was sad! You must have felt the same way when you lost your parents!”
Now I understood. Revenge. She had launched her attack, ignoring the civilians around her, for the sake of her parents.
Kotori was the enemy who had killed them. That meant Tobiichi’s parents must have died in the Nankocho Great Fire.
I could understand that. This was her chance to kill the one who took everything from her. But did that give me the right to stop her?
“Are you trying to make Shido feel that way again?!!”
Tohka’s words erased my hesitation. Not completely, but if we didn’t stop Tobiichi now, Itsuka-kun’s family would be the next to suffer. That much was certain.
“I won’t let that happen! I don’t want Shido to feel that way!”
“Aaaaaah!!!!”
Tobiichi screamed and unleashed a barrage of missiles at Tohka.
There was no more time for doubt.
“So you’re making me do this again.”
Whoosh!
I swung the straight sword in front of Tohka, summoning a towering wall of flames.
Tobiichi’s missiles were burned to ash the moment they touched the fire.
“You are...!”
Tobiichi recognized me.
Did she say the Flame Spirit was the enemy who killed her parents?
Then, at the very least, in this moment, I am the Flame Spirit.
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