After Mayuri left, I contacted the commander and told her everything that had happened so far.
“...Haa. So let me get this straight. The sphere floating in the sky that only you people can see is [Kerubiel], and its administrative personality is a girl named Mayuri?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s probably a spirit, that much is certain. But what do you mean, an error?”
“Well...”
I thought about how I should explain it, then just repeated what I’d heard.
“Something about the vessel splitting into two and causing an error...”
“If it was only ever possible for Itsuka-kun in the first place, then I guess that’s the natural result.”
“Haa...”
Only the commander’s heavy sigh came through over [Fraxinus].
“Th-there is one thing I didn’t mention...”
The thing I hadn’t mentioned.
What else would it be? Obviously, that Mayuri had asked me out on a date.
I told her everything, including the part where Mayuri asked me to go on a date with her.
“What?! You were asked out on a date?!”
“I guess so...?”
I hadn’t planned it either.
She just showed up out of nowhere and asked me to date her. What kind of lunatic would plan for that?
Anyway, after hearing me out, the commander fell into serious thought, then spoke.
“Hiki, can you handle it?”
“Uh... handle what?”
“You know exactly what I’m asking.”
I could kind of guess what she meant, but how was I supposed to handle that?
“I’ll... have to try, I guess...”
“...Tch. Go get ready for tomorrow’s date. I’ll tell the others.”
Hiss.
At this rate, when tomorrow ended, my body might get chopped into pieces and delivered to different people...?
*
The next day.
I was on my way to Tengushi Quintet for my date with Mayuri.
The silver lining was that there hadn’t been any backlash, probably because they’d heard that once Mayuri finished her purpose, she would disappear.
So I was able to leave without any trouble.
“Haa. Why am I the date target, anyway?”
Even as I walked, I still couldn’t figure out why I’d been chosen as the date target.
If anything, wouldn’t Itsuka-kun have been the better choice?
He can cook, he’s kind, people like him, and his reputation is... well, it’s in the gutter thanks to Tohka and Tobiichi, but still, that’s not bad.
I... only really know how to cook.
When I’d asked the others about that before, Rinne had said something like this:
-Isn’t it just because they like you?
-Like me?
-Yeah. Among the sealed spirits right now, everyone except me, Kotori, and Tohka likes Hieta, right?
-That... makes sense?!!
It did make sense.
The problem was that I was the one they were talking about.
After realizing that my relationships with the girls around me were already complicated, adding more felt like it would be irreversible.
...Was that a little too full of myself?
“You’re here.”
“Ah.”
After walking while lost in thought for a few minutes, I’d already arrived at Tengushi Quintet.
And Mayuri was right in front of me.
“Yes. I’m here.”
“You kept your promise, so I guess I don’t need to cut off your fingers.”
Was she seriously planning to do that?
Something about Mayuri’s deadpan expression made it feel like she really might, and that gave me a slight chill.
Still, this was a date, so I figured I should do what Mayuri wanted.
“Then I’m in your care for today.”
I held out one hand to her.
“...Mm.”
Mayuri hesitated for a moment at my gesture, then placed her hand on top of mine.
Seeing her look a little embarrassed made me smile.
*
The first place we went was a restaurant nearby.
It was 9 a.m. now, so it was a little late for breakfast, but I’d come out with an empty stomach too, so I thought it was a good choice.
“This is a family restaurant?”
“Yeah. I wanted to try one.”
After saying that, she stared hard at the menu.
“I’ll have this.”
“Then I’ll have the same.”
After a little while, the food we ordered arrived.
“......”
“...Are you not going to eat?”
But for some reason, Mayuri just stared blankly at the food.
What was up with her?
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“This. How do you eat it?”
Mayuri poked at the tonkatsu in front of her with her fork as she spoke.
So she really didn’t know.
I straightened up a little, leaned forward, and cut her tonkatsu for her with my knife.
“There. Now just stab it with your fork and eat it.”
“...So that’s how you do it.”
Nodding, Mayuri brought the sliced tonkatsu to her mouth.
Then she stuffed it all in and chewed away happily.
“She looks like she’s around high school age...”
For some reason, her behavior was like a little kid’s.
The gap between her appearance and her actions was so strong that I let out a snort before I realized it.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just that you look cute when you eat.”
After giving Mayuri a simple answer, I cut my own tonkatsu and put it in my mouth.
This was pretty good.
If I came here with Yoshino sometime, I think she’d like it.
As I kept eating while thinking that, Mayuri suddenly glared at me from across the table.
“What is it?”
“You were thinking about another girl.”
“Cough!”
The tonkatsu I’d been swallowing got stuck in my throat from the sudden question.
I hurriedly drank the water beside me, got it down safely, and asked Mayuri, “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Why are you thinking about another girl while you’re on a date with me?”
No, how did she even know that?
I was starting to suspect that the girls around me were all developing some kind of mind-reading ability.
“I wasn’t.”
“...Really?”
Mayuri dropped her suspicion at my shameless answer and went back to eating her tonkatsu.
Watching her, I noticed something.
There was sauce around her mouth.
Wasn’t that uncomfortable?
At least I felt uncomfortable looking at it, so I pulled out a napkin from the right side of the table.
Then I reached over and wiped her mouth for her.
“Mmph.”
“Honestly, are you a little kid, Mayuri? You got sauce all over yourself while eating.”
After rubbing a few times, the sauce was gone.
I stuffed the sauce-stained napkin into my inventory without thinking much of it.
I’d throw it away later.
“What are you doing all of a sudden—”
“You were cute, but still, eat a little slower. Nobody’s going to snatch it away from you.”
Before she could say anything, I cut in first.
She looked obviously dissatisfied, so she was probably about to complain about what I’d just done.
“...You’re mean.”
“Huh?”
“...”
She called me mean, then went back to focusing on her meal.
No, I mean, stealing her line was kind of mean, but was that really something to get sulky over?
*
After we finished eating, the next place we went was the game center.
It was a different one from the place I’d gone with Kaguya last time.
“I wanted to come here too.”
“I see. But do you know how to play any of these games?”
At my question, Mayuri shook her head.
“Then what are you planning to do here?”
“You.”
This time, she pointed at me with her finger.
“Teach me.”
“...Yeah. Sure, why not.”
I knew it.
Whenever Mayuri wanted to play a game, I stood beside her and explained how to play, or showed her directly with my own hands.
Especially with the kinds of games where you faced off against each other, I couldn’t stop smiling.
“That makes it 5 to 3. I win.”
Of course I kept winning.
You could say I was being pretty awful to a girl, but once the soul of a gamer caught fire, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“...Too mean.”
And that came back to bite me as karma.
Mayuri collapsed to the ground with her head hanging low.
Because of that, the people around us started whispering, and I hurriedly helped her up and got us out of the game center.
“I-I’m sorry. I got too into the game and ended up—”
“Hehe. Success.”
Mayuri cut me off, making a V sign with her fingers and laughing.
Looks like that whole thing had been intentional.
“Payback for earlier.”
“......”
I could roughly guess what kind of payback she meant.
It was probably revenge for what happened at the family restaurant.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and said, “Haa... Honestly, I thought you were really crying and I was shocked.”
“Hm? You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad when I’m the one who messed up? This was a date for Mayuri to begin with, and I got carried away on my own. That was my mistake for not considering you.”
Since it was my fault in the first place, there was no reason to be angry.
But Mayuri looked startled by my answer, then returned to her usual blank expression.
Without saying a word, she took my hand and led me to the next place.
Her ears were a little red.
*
The last place we went was a park.
A quiet park with hardly any people around.
There, we sat on a bench and chatted idly.
“The kinds of dishes I can make?”
“Yeah.”
“I can make a lot of things, but I guess Korean food is the main one.”
After all, I was Korean.
“I see.”
While we were talking about this and that, Mayuri suddenly stood up.
“Mayuri?”
“I think it’s time for me to go.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve realized the feelings I’ve been having now.”
Mayuri said, looking up at the sphere floating in the sky.
“I think... I like you.”
“...I see.”
“So you knew.”
“Of course.”
From the moment she asked me out on a date, I’d already thought there was a decent chance.
And now Mayuri’s words had made it certain.
She shifted her gaze to me and gave a bitter smile.
“I only just realized how I feel, and now I’m about to disappear.”
Hearing that, I thought for a moment before speaking.
“What if, hypothetically, I had a way to keep you from disappearing?”
“There’s no way something like that—”
“Rinne. You know who that is, right?”
She had to know.
She’d seen Itsuka-kun’s date too.
“Yeah. But why?”
“Rinne was originally supposed to disappear too. Like Mayuri, she was a being that vanished once she fulfilled her role.”
Apparently she hadn’t known that, because Mayuri’s eyes went wide.
Seeing her reaction, I continued immediately.
“I saved her. Using the souls I had.”
“Sou... ls?”
“Yes. So please, just trust me once. I want Mayuri to keep living.”
After my words, there was a brief silence.
And after a little while, she opened her mouth.
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