“Haa... Does it really have to be me, Itsuka?”
“Yeah. It’d be weird if anyone other than Shido handed back the handkerchief.”
Right now, I was on my way to Rindoji Girls' Academy, the school where Miku—the spirit known as [Diva]—attended.
I was there to return the handkerchief to her and keep the strategy moving forward.
At first, I’d tried to dump the task on Itsuka-kun, but the commander had strongly objected, so that plan failed miserably.
*My pitiful life.*
As I grumbled to myself and entered the gates of Rindoji Girls' Academy, the commander spoke through my earpiece.
“There they are. Get ready.”
“Roger.”
Just as the commander said, a group of girls was walking out. They were chatting animatedly among themselves until they noticed me standing there; they stopped in their tracks and turned to look at me.
“Can we help you?”
The girl at the front of the group eyed me suspiciously as she asked.
I ignored her gaze and answered simply.
“I’m here to see Miku.”
“Are you a fan of my sister?”
Upon hearing my request, the girl referred to Miku as “sister” and immediately assumed I was a fan.
I wanted to object, but that seemed like it would only lead to more hassle, so I just listened to her.
“This is a problem. My sister is busy with private matters right now—”
“Oh my, Miyuki.”
While the girl was still talking, Miku appeared from behind her.
“Huh, sister?”
“Hehe. Miyuki wants to talk with me, so would you mind stepping aside?”
“Y-Yes!”
The girl, who had been about to dismiss me, immediately backed down at Miku’s request and hurried away.
Miku cleaned up the situation before it could become a nuisance, then led me into a private room.
“Where is this?”
“This is where I have my tea time.”
Just watching her pour tea into a cup while speaking sent a chill down my spine again.
She was unfailingly kind to actual girls.
“I’m so happy you came all the way to my school just to return my handkerchief.”
“...Yeah?”
Then came the silence.
I looked away from her and stared blankly at the teacup in front of me.
“Hey! You need to keep the conversation going if you want to get information!”
The commander barked orders through the intercom, but I couldn’t bring myself to keep talking.
Just being in this room made me feel like I was being absorbed into the role of a girl instead of a man, and it was disgusting.
“...Those girls who stopped me earlier were the ones you usually have tea with, right? Sorry to bother them.”
Still, I had to keep the strategy moving, so I forced myself to speak after a series of short, clipped answers.
“Don’t worry about it. They’re good girls who listen to me.”
“So it seems.”
When Miku had asked them to move earlier, they obeyed without the slightest hesitation. That was enough to tell me they were completely obedient.
Almost as if they’d been brainwashed.
Maybe they were just acting out of admiration or respect, but since I knew the girl in front of me was a spirit, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was the power of her angel.
As I thought this, my throat felt dry, so I absentmindedly brought the teacup to my lips.
The tea was surprisingly delicious, likely because she’d used high-quality leaves.
“...This is good.”
“Hehe. It is, isn’t it?”
Seeing the smile on Miku’s face as she reacted to my words, I nearly spat the tea right back out.
I really should have dumped this on Itsuka-kun somehow.
****
Anyway, after somehow keeping the conversation going and chatting about this and that, the sky had turned orange before I knew it.
By then, I’d apparently consumed a ridiculous amount of tea and snacks; the desk in front of us was cluttered with various teacups, plates, and forks.
I finally felt like it was time to leave, so I relaxed a little.
“Hmm. This is nice after all.”
“...What is?”
That one line made my anxiety sensor start screaming its head off.
What the hell was she about to say that made my instincts go this crazy?
“Miyuki is a type I haven’t seen before.”
As she said that and rose from her seat to walk toward me, my anxiety sensor went beyond screaming and started having a full-blown seizure.
*Run. If you don’t run now, something unimaginable is going to happen.*
That was what my instincts were telling me.
“S-So?”
“I like you. So I want you to transfer to Rindoji starting tomorrow.”
But Miku’s words were nothing like what my anxiety sensor had predicted. She just wanted me to transfer schools.
Wanting someone you like to attend the same school didn’t seem like something that should trigger a panic response, but if the other person was a lesbian and I was a man pretending to be a girl, then I supposed it made sense.
“That’s a little...”
I wasn’t a girl, and I had no intention of doing Miku any favors, so I was about to refuse outright.
“If you’re worried about money or grades, that’s fine. I’ll ‘ask’ for you.”
But Miku seemed genuinely determined to get me into Rindoji and began trying to persuade me.
Still, I had no intention of going, so I said firmly, “That’s not something I can decide that easily. Besides, I like Raizen.”
At my answer, Miku suddenly pressed her body against mine and whispered, “{Please.}”
The moment I heard that, I felt something strange.
It was the same feeling as when something had interfered with my mind, similar to what happened with Rinne.
That was why my anxiety sensor had been screaming.
Feeling disgusted by the attempt to manipulate my mind, I pulled away from her and said, “Even so, if it’s a no, it’s a no.”
Miku looked surprised and tried again, “Miyuki. {Please take your clothes off.}”
*Tch...*
That same feeling of mental interference hit me again.
What an utterly disgusting spirit.
“That’s even more impossible.”
After I refused her ‘request’ once more, Miku stepped back.
“So you really won’t listen to me. Are you perhaps a spirit?”
There it was again. Spirit, spirit.
How much of a pain had it been to clear up that misunderstanding, and now she was calling me a spirit again?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“There’s no point hiding it. A normal person wouldn’t be able to refuse my ‘request.’”
Miku moved to the window and turned her head back toward me.
“Who are you, really? A spirit? Or are you with those people called Wizards who attack me?”
Who was I?
The answer to that question was simple.
“I’m not a spirit. I’m not a Wizard or whatever else either. I’m just a human.”
I wasn’t a spirit, and I wasn’t a Wizard. I was simply human.
Even if the power I possessed wasn’t that of an ordinary human, I was still human.
That was an identity that would never change.
“What a shame. So Miyuki was lying—”
Miku seemed to think I was lying, but you should always listen to a Korean person to the end.
“But I’m not an ordinary human.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. I can seal a spirit’s power.”
Miku’s expression didn’t change.
She just listened to me calmly.
“I understand if you don’t believe me.”
“No, I believe you. So you’re trying to seal my power?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m fine like this.”
As expected, I’d already realized it when she tried to interfere with my mind earlier.
Miku was perfectly satisfied with her current life.
“Oh dear. So that’s how you want to play it? Keep trying to persuade her.”
“Let me ask you one thing. You caused a spacequake in front of Tatsunami Station before, didn’t you?”
“Oh my, so you knew?”
“...”
*You did that on purpose?*
That had been my question all along.
Why had she caused that spacequake?
Other spirits caused spacequakes unintentionally—though there were exceptions like the Princess—but this girl seemed to have excellent control over her abilities.
So I’d reached the conclusion that she had caused it of her own will.
“Hey! I told you to persuade her, what are you doing?!”
The commander shouted in anger.
Of course she would. I was supposed to raise the spirit’s affection, but instead, I was saying things that would make it plummet.
Still, I needed to hear the answer.
Depending on what it was, I’d decide what to do next.
I turned off the intercom in my ear.
“That’s right. I hadn’t sung at Tengu Arena before. So when I passed the station, I suddenly felt like singing. So I went, ‘Here goes!’ and—”
I was speechless.
She caused a spacequake just because she felt like singing?
“What if your friends had been there?”
“They all like me very much, so if it were for me, wouldn’t they have died happily?”
At Miku’s answer, I lost the ability to speak.
She was treating even her own friends like disposable goods.
Pure, extreme selfishness.
That one phrase was enough to describe her.
“Why?”
“Because everyone likes me? They all listen to what I say.”
So that was it?
“I’ll say one thing. I fucking hate you.”
Congratulations, you’ve got one more anti-fan right here.
“Arrogant, insolent, and insanely selfish. You’re disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.”
The way she saw people as disposable, the way she thought it was fine as long as she was fine, the way she believed other people liked her so it was okay to do whatever she wanted—it was all revolting.
Maybe I felt that way even more because I’d lost my parents in a sudden accident and then lost the rest of my human connections because of my closest friend.
“Even if everyone in the world likes you, I—”
*I’ll hate you. I’ll hate everything you do. I’ll hate everything about you.*
Miku looked at me with an intrigued expression after hearing my words.
Then she came closer and said, “Hmm~ Hearing that makes me want you even more. I want to torment you until you’re crying and saying, ‘I love you.’”
As Miku placed a hand on my shoulder, I brushed it away and said, “That’s never going to happen.”
“Then how about making a bet with me? If Raizen wins the grand prize on the first day of the festival, I’ll let you seal away my spiritual power.”
“......”
“Oh, and for the record, I’m going to be in the stage section, so Miyuki has to enter something too.”
“What happens if I lose?”
“Well, then Miyuki becomes mine. If I have a sealed spirit, then they’ll be the same for me.”
“Fine. I’ll take that bet.”
As much as I wanted to, I wanted to refuse.
I didn’t want to accept this disgusting girl’s bet.
Still, her power was dangerous, so if I wanted to seal it, I had no choice but to accept.
“Good. Then I’ll look forward to the festival stage.”
With that final line from Miku, I left Rindoji.
For the first time in a long while, I’d met someone truly disgusting.
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