It was lunchtime again, just like any other day. Tohka and Tobiichi had pushed their desks up against Itsuka-kun’s, and I had positioned mine facing him as well before unpacking my meal.
“Huh? Your lunches are the same?”
For some reason, Tohka’s lunch and Itsuka-kun’s were identical. Tobiichi must have noticed too, as she asked what was going on.
“Well... I bought the same lunch this morning. I just happened to run into Tohka...”
At Itsuka-kun’s answer, Tobiichi picked up the lid of his lunchbox and declared, “Lie. This lunchbox was purchased 154 days ago for 1,580 yen at the discount store by the station, and you’ve been using it ever since. It is not a store-bought meal.”
“Tobiichi-san... how do you even know something like that...?”
Tobiichi was starting to scare me. How on earth did she know those details? She knew exactly when he bought it and how much it cost.
“That’s not important right now.”
“What have you two been talking about this whole time! Don’t leave me out!”
Tohka felt excluded. Honestly, it might have been better if she hadn't overheard the conversation.
“Hey~ Itsuka, Hieta-kun. A girlfriend asked me to help coordinate an outfit, and I was wondering if you two could pick between a nurse, a shrine maiden, or a maid?”
The student making the bizarre request was Tonomachi Hiroto. The "girlfriend" Tonomachi-kun was referring to was a character from a mobile dating sim. I understood; people like that existed even before I was possessed.
“Why are you asking us this now?! Just pick the maid or whatever!”
“If I had to choose, I’d say... a shrine maiden, I suppose.”
“Then maid it is!”
After Tonomachi-kun left, Itsuka-kun asked me, “By the way, Hieta. Is a shrine maiden your type?”
“Hmm... It’s not that shrine maidens are my type, exactly, but there was a woman I met before who dressed similarly to one. Well, I can’t see her anymore.”
I was thinking of Dark Souls—specifically, the Fire Keeper. Perhaps because she was one of the few gentle souls in that godawfully bleak world, she remained etched in my memory.
“Ah... I see. Sorry. I brought up something unpleasant.”
“Huh?”
Itsuka-kun had completely misunderstood. Something unpleasant? Being possessed and dumped into Dark Souls 3 was certainly unpleasant, but the way he said it sounded like he was apologizing to a man who had lost a loved one.
“Itsuka-kun. Could it be that I—”
“Wiiiiiing! A spacequake warning has just been detected in this area! Please evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter.”
Just as I was about to explain, the alarm blared. Thanks to that, I lost my chance to clear things up.
“Everyone! It’s a spacequake warning! Evacuate immediately!”
Following Tamae-sensei’s instructions, the students began to evacuate. Amidst the chaos, Itsuka-kun and I spoke with Murasame-san.
“Leave Tohka behind?”
“Yes. Since Tohka’s powers are sealed, she’s no different from an ordinary human. Besides, if she witnesses a fight between a spirit and the AST and her stress levels spike, it could be a problem.”
“Even so...”
Murasame-san’s logic was sound. If Tohka was currently human, she could easily be killed in a spirit battle. But what did stress have to do with it?
“Um, what do you mean by stress?”
“Ah, I never explained that. Shido and Tohka are connected by an invisible pipe. If Tohka’s stress becomes too high, there’s a strong chance her spirit power will flow back through that pipe. If that happens, we’ll have to seal her all over again.”
I nodded at the explanation. We definitely couldn’t take Tohka with us.
“Sensei, please take care of Tohka.”
“Huh? Well, of course...”
“Shido?”
“Tohka, I have something important to do right now. Please evacuate to the shelter with the teacher.”
In the end, we left Tohka in the teacher’s care and were transported to the [Fraxinus].
“Good, you’re here. A spacequake just occurred.”
As the commander spoke, the giant monitor in the center displayed a single crater.
“This one’s pretty small.”
“If we’re lucky, perhaps. But if it’s [Hermit], this is exactly what it would look like.”
“Hermit?”
That was the name of the spirit who had appeared. She was known to be a very docile type.
Following the commander’s words, the screen zoomed in to reveal a face I recognized.
“Yoshino...?”
“I know that girl.”
“What?”
“The day before yesterday, around sunset. I saw her at the shrine.”
It seemed Itsuka-kun had seen Yoshino-san too, just as I had.
“At that time, there were no noticeable changes in spirit wave readings.”
“So she’s the same as Tohka...”
“AST has arrived! Commencing attack!”
On the screen, AST units flew in and began raining an enormous number of bullets down on Yoshino-san. Yoshino-san, meanwhile, flew through the air, dodging the projectiles one by one, doing nothing but trying to escape.
“They’re attacking such a little kid...!”
“Looks don’t matter to the AST.”
“That girl is just running away!”
Watching Yoshino-san flee made me irritated that I was merely standing here watching. A child that small was being hunted, and I, an adult, was just sitting back. Wasn’t I the one who believed it was only natural for adults to protect children?
“...Commander.”
“What.”
“Send me down there.”
“...What?! You’re a spirit too, remember! If you show up, you’ll become a target as well!”
That was fine. In fact, that was the point. At the very least, I could buy that kid some time to escape.
“I don’t care. That’s exactly what I’m aiming for. Besides, isn’t it pathetic for an adult to just stand by while a little girl is attacked?”
“Tch. Looking at your eyes, I can tell there’s no point in trying to stop you. Fine. Just buy as much time as you can, then move to the location we specify.”
“Roger.”
And so, I was transported near Yoshino-san.
“Don’t worry! Why? Because I’m here!!!”
I shouted as loudly as possible to draw the AST’s attention. Yoshino-san seemed to notice me, but since she was still in flight, she quickly looked away again.
“Captain! [Knight] has appeared!”
“What?! Why does that spirit keep showing up whenever another spirit is around?!”
“Why does that matter right now?! Come at me fair and square! I’ll show you true chivalry!”
“What kind of knight attacks women?!!!”
“Hmph! I don’t count women who attack children as women! You cowards! Take this! [Lumos Maxima]!!!”
With my shout, the miracle of Force released a blinding flash toward the AST. Before long, one of the members who failed to dodge clutched her eyes, flailing wildly in midair.
“My eyes!!! My eyes!!!”
“You bastard!!! That dirty light attack again?!!!”
“Then what are you going to do about it?!!!”
“From here on, only a few of us will pursue [Hermit], the rest will engage [Knight]!!!”
“Tch. I can’t keep them all here.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly and prepared to face the AST. They were airborne, and since I had no way to fly, I needed a long-range solution.
“Miracle: Lightning Arrow.”
I chose a miracle—specifically, Lightning Arrow. There were the Spear of Lightning spells, but those lost potency over distance. I intended to fire this with low lethality, and a Spear of Lightning would have been far too weak by the time it reached them.
“Everyone, be careful! This is a different attack!”
“I’ll conquer the world with a single arrow!!!”
“That’s a line from a game!!!”
Oh, so one of them plays "that game." In that case, watch closely! Your precious life is on the line!
Crackle!
The lightning arrow fired from my hand pierced one AST member.
“Aaaagh!!! My body!!! My body!!!”
“What the—!”
“I can’t... get any strength into my muscles... It actually feels kind of refreshing...”
“What did you do?!!!”
What did I do, you ask?
“I merely stimulated your muscles with electricity until they loosened up!!! As a bonus, when you wake up tomorrow, you’ll feel incredibly refreshed!!!”
“W-what is this!!! What kind of vicious yet considerate attack is this?!!!”
And so, my battle with the AST continued.
“Ha! Roll!”
“Damn it! Why won’t it hit?!”
“Movement! Movement! Shwoop! Shoo-shoo!”
“So annoying!!!”
It was mostly just me dodging and toying with them in a one-sided display.
“Not a chance! Lightning Arrow!”
Crackle!
When the AST closed in, I dodged with rolls and quicksteps. When they retreated, I struck with Lightning Arrow.
“Captain! There are only a few members left who haven’t been knocked down!”
“Tch!”
“Hahahaha!!! What can you do to me? What can you possibly do to me?!!!”
“We have to retreat and leave that infuriating bastard behind!”
“Aaaah!”
“Captain! One more has been hit!”
“Damn it! Everyone retreat! Have the uninjured members carry the ones who are down!”
“Hahahaha! My victory!!!”
Just as I was celebrating, the intercom the commander had given me crackled to life.
“Hey.”
“Huh? What is it, Commander?”
“Sigh... When you asked me to send you over, it sounded like you were trying to save [Hermit], but looking at the feed, you seem to be enjoying yourself far too much.”
Tch. Honestly, it was a little fun. How could it not be, watching them struggle with everything they had just to catch me?
“So, should I head over now?”
“Quit changing the subject. Yes. There should be a department store nearby. Move there. Shido will be waiting.”
“Roger.”
Following the commander’s instructions, I made my way to the nearby department store.
“Here!”
“Ah, there you are.”
Fortunately, I found Itsuka-kun after entering the building. The commander had only specified the store and the floor, so I almost got lost. I'd realized at the park last time that I'm actually quite bad with directions.
“By the way, this place is a little eerie.”
Looking around, I saw countless mannequins. With the lights off, the combination created a creepy atmosphere. That said, it wasn’t exactly scary. If you want to see places truly terrifying, go to Dark Souls.
“Are you two here to bully Yoshinon too~?”
“Gah!”
“Good day, Yoshinon.”
When I turned toward the voice, Yoshino-san was floating in the air, hanging upside down.
That was my second meeting with [Hermit].
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