By the time my head had fully regenerated and I opened my eyes, I found myself trapped in a bizarre, void-like space.
“Are you awake?”
“...This is insane.”
A photographer stepped into the darkness.
She was dressed as a professional secretary now, having shed the CR-Unit she had worn earlier.
“I wouldn’t recommend resisting. With your current strength, you won’t be able to break that lock.”
Just as she said, it felt as though she had pumped me full of some kind of paralytic. My body barely responded to my will.
No matter how hard I strained, nothing worked. Resigned for the moment, I remained tied to the chair and looked at the photographer with a lazy grin.
“I know I’m irresistible, but kidnapping me is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“What nonsense are you—!”
The photographer looked thoroughly offended.
Well, of course. My joke wasn't the point.
Considering how she had singled Tohka out from the crowd, if I hadn’t been the one snatched, Tohka would have been the target.
And the goal was almost certainly her power.
“Well, if not, then I guess not~”
I did my best to maintain a facade of calm.
There was nothing to be gained by letting the enemy know I was rattled.
“You seem remarkably composed.”
“Of course. It’s not as if Itsuka-kun didn’t get away cleanly. Why wouldn’t I be calm?”
I said it with confidence, but in truth, I had no idea if he had actually escaped unscathed.
If he had been spotted mid-escape and something had gone wrong, that would be the worst-case scenario.
“As you noted, Itsuka Shido’s whereabouts are currently unknown.”
At her words, a wave of relief washed over me.
So he really did get away.
Now, all I had to do was find a way out of here.
But that hope was instantly crushed by the photographer’s next words.
“Still, he’ll likely come for you within a few days. If he resists, I might have to break an arm or a leg.”
Logically, he shouldn’t come. I didn’t have a limit on my lives; I could simply wait for an opening and escape on my own.
But Itsuka-kun was absolutely not the type of person to leave me behind.
Knowing him, he would charge in without a second thought just to save me.
“...Go on. Try it.”
The image of Itsuka-kun with broken limbs made my voice drop an octave before I even realized it.
I shifted the one hand I could still move and tried to smash the lock.
As expected, I couldn't muster enough strength, and the attempt failed.
Suddenly, the photographer’s hair floated upward, and a shimmering barrier expanded around me.
“......”
I remained silent, staring at her, curious to see what she was attempting.
I could feel a heavy pressure weighing down on my body, but after having been crushed to death multiple times in Dark Souls, this was nothing.
“The precision of my territory is the strongest among Wizards. I’ll say it again: resistance is meaningless.”
Judging by my lack of reaction, the photographer assumed I was simply too agonized to speak.
“......”
I had no intention of correcting her misunderstanding, so I stayed quiet.
That seemed to satisfy her, and the corners of her mouth curled into a slight smirk.
“Now then, let me ask you a few questions.”
And with that, she began her interrogation.
*****
At the same time, Itsuka Shido had returned to Tengu Square with Tokisaki Kurumi to meet Izayoi Miku.
Was this really the right choice...
Shido felt a twinge of regret.
It wasn't that he regretted accepting Kurumi’s deal.
Rather, he felt guilty for leaving Tohka and Rinne, the Fire Keeper, behind on the [Fraxinus].
Thanks to Mana’s help, the [Fraxinus] had regained its operational capacity, so he wasn't exactly worried about their safety, but it still felt wrong to leave Tohka—who was more than capable of fighting—behind.
Then again, if Tohka had been brainwashed as well, it would have been a disaster. Leaving her in the safety of the ship had been the right call.
Yeah. For now, I need to focus on the task at hand.
With that resolve, Shido shook off his doubts and focused on the path ahead.
“This is bad!!! Big sister!!!”
Meanwhile, Ai, who had spotted them, rushed to inform Miku and her friends, Mai and Mii, of their arrival.
“You found them. The men.”
Miku had heard the report clearly.
One of Hieta’s team members from the stage, Itsuka Shiori, had shimmered and reverted to a man the moment Hieta’s ring was removed.
The reason Itsuka Shido had changed appearance was simple: while fleeing with Tohka, he had found the female form inconvenient and removed the ring.
A brainwashed witness to the scene had reported exactly what happened to Miku.
“We couldn’t find Hieta, but we did find Itsuka Shido!”
“Is that so? It’s a shame you couldn’t find the other one, but I’m glad you caught at least one of them.”
Miku had departed as soon as she saw Shiori transform into Shido, so she was unaware that Hieta had been kidnapped.
“So, who found him? If it was a girl, I’ll spoil her. If it was a guy... well, I’ll throw him some candy.”
At Miku’s words, Ai, Mai, and Mii scratched their cheeks awkwardly. “Well... there were a lot of people who saw it...”
“Way too many of them...”
“It was actually kind of creepy...”
Noticing their strange reactions, Miku took the spirits with her and headed to the broadcast room to see for herself.
The broadcast room was equipped with microphones connected to speakers throughout Tengu Square, as well as monitors displaying the CCTV feeds.
As soon as Miku stepped inside, she checked one of the screens.
On the monitor showing the entrance to Tengu Square, she saw Shido and Kurumi standing there, looking as if they had arrived of their own free will.
Seeing this, Miku leaned into the microphone. “Coming back to my domain on your own two feet? You look pretty relaxed, Shiori—no, Itsuka Shido!”
Miku’s voice boomed across Tengu Square through the speakers.
At the sound of her voice, Itsuka Shido swallowed nervously.
“Miku...”
Observing Shido's reaction, Miku spoke again.
“All right, everyone! Catch them! And please, be as polite as possible. Otherwise, my share of the reward will shrink, you know?”
Miku planned to get revenge on Shido as well as Hieta, since he had deceived her too.
“Kurumi! At this rate...”
Following Miku’s command, the crowd surrounding them began to close in slowly.
Suddenly, a man rushed at Shido.
Shido blocked him with one arm and tried to shove him away, but for some reason, the man suddenly lost his balance and collapsed.
Starting with that man, the people around them began dropping one by one.
Shido felt something being drained from his own body.
It wasn’t the first time he had experienced this sensation.
It was the exact same feeling he had when fighting Kurumi inside the [Castle That Eats Time].
“The [Castle That Eats Time]...?”
“Kihihihit! Correct. You remembered well, Shido~”
As Kurumi spoke, the clock in her eyes rewound rapidly.
“It’s difficult to spread my shadow this wide, but opportunities to gather time from this many people don’t come around often~”
“Kurumi, you brought out something this dangerous...”
“Oh? Would you have preferred it if I just let them catch you?”
In response to Kurumi’s retort, Shido could only hope she would dial it back a little.
If she hadn’t deployed the [Castle That Eats Time], he would have been the one overwhelmed.
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