Shiratori felt immensely insulted.
Having two electronic devices bouncing around right in front of her felt like someone walking around in total darkness with two high-powered flashlights strapped to their body, shouting, “You can’t see me, you can’t see me!”
“Who on earth are you?”
CLACK!
The table split cleanly down the middle without warning.
Shido swallowed hard in sheer terror.
[Shido, try saying the line “I am an envoy” to her!]
Huh?
How could a line like that possibly work?!
“Passing around intelligence right in front of me again—I suggest you hurry it up.”
Shiratori spoke with impatience, the weapon in her hand already taking solid form.
She then aimed the dark, hollow muzzle straight at the tip of Shido’s nose, her finger gradually depressing the trigger bit by bit.
“Um…
in truth!
I am an envoy!”
The moment the words burst out of his mouth, Shido noticed Shiratori’s movements freeze.
“An envoy…
meaning you came to negotiate?”
“Y-Yes!”
Shido nodded in a panic.
In an instant, Shiratori dissolved the weapon back into Reiryoku.
She turned around, lifted Yoshino, and moved her to a distant chair, then sat back down in her previous spot with an exceptionally grave expression.
[Shido, Shiratori’s emotional metrics have stabilized!]
Eh, it actually worked…?
This was undeniably bizarre; Shido couldn’t believe a line that sounded so overly chuunibyou could actually calm the Spirit before him.
[Is that not thanks to our analytical results?]
Kotori sat back comfortably with a Chupa Chups lollipop in her mouth, as if everything were well within her expectations.
[Since the target is a Spirit associated with war machines, she is bound to place heavy emphasis on battlefield etiquette.
Isn’t there a saying?
‘When two nations are at war, do not harm the envoy.’ Strict, rigid personalities are always easier to handle.]
But why are you so sure she’s related to war machines?!
Shido didn’t buy that line from the bottom of his heart.
At most, the Shiratori before him might have some connection to mechanical operatives.
Claiming she was tied to war had to be a total guess!
[Shido, has your brain regressed back to the Jurassic Period?
Have you ever seen anyone wearing a full military uniform complete with medals who had nothing to do with war?]
But her Astral Dress clearly…
Whether due to psychological suggestion or something else, Shido suddenly felt her Astral Dress really did bear a strong resemblance to a military uniform.
[In short, just trust us.]
“My patience is not unlimited.
However, if you plan to fool me, your logic had better be flawless.”
Shiratori spoke quietly while sipping her tea.
Shido sat back on the sofa in flustered haste and began:
“Um, actually, I’m not your enemy.”
“…”
Shiratori cast a skeptical gaze, using her Angel to repair the split table before placing her teacup back down on it.
“I suspect what you were discussing just now wasn’t limited to merely that.”
Her words naturally referred to the exchange between Shido and Kotori.
However, judging from her reaction, Shiratori didn’t seem to know the actual content of their conversation—likely because she lacked a computer on hand to hack into their communication channel.
If Shiratori were to find out that he and Kotori were just bickering…
He would definitely be turned into a sieve—the kind perforated so finely it could serve as a strainer.
“Actually, that was…”
“Never mind, let me go first.”
Shiratori seemed to give up on interrogating Shido, bringing her fingertips together.
“First: were those encounters over the past few days truly coincidences?”
[Damn it, the initiative has been seized.]
Kotori’s voice came through, her teeth grinding in frustration.
Shido could only offer an awkward twitch of his lips in response.
“They really were coincidences!
I was just in a hurry passing by back then.
I don’t lie, I swear!”
“Is that so?”
Scrutinizing Shido with a suspicious glare, Shiratori tilted her head, locking her eyes onto his.
Seeing Shiratori’s gaze fixated so intensely on his eyes, Shido’s nervousness spiked instantaneously, causing him to instinctively look away.
However…
THUD!
In the blink of an eye, Shiratori grabbed Shido by the neck, the sheer force slamming his head back against the soft sofa cushion. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Her fingers clamped tightly right below his cheeks.
As if attempting to peer into the deepest depths of Shido’s eyes, Shiratori brought her face impossibly close to his.
“…”
It was a pair of eyes with two distinct shades of blue.
Extremely strange—being pinned down like this, Shido’s very first reaction was actually to notice her eyes.
Come to think of it, this was indeed his first time observing her eyes from such a distance.
Last time, Shiratori was wearing glasses, making it hard to tell, but this time he could see them with absolute clarity.
“Cough, cough…”
After locking eyes like this for several minutes, it was only when Shido began coughing from restricted breathing that the ferocity in Shiratori’s gaze lessened slightly, sparing his reddened neck.
Pulling back slightly to create a bit of distance, Shiratori continued staring into his eyes as she asked:
“You didn’t resist.
Why?”
“Because I believe you won’t kill people without a reason.”
Shiratori’s brow furrowed slightly, a momentary flicker of confusion passing over her face.
“When death approaches, any living creature will struggle desperately in a final, frantic bid to survive.
Yet you didn’t.
In my memory, such a response only exists in trained, fanatical operatives resigned to death.”
“Yet you are different from them.
You are entirely rational, fully aware of what you are doing, and willing to stake everything possible to achieve your goal.”
“I do not believe someone capable of that would lie.”
Was this a indirect sign of her acknowledgment?
Although Shido didn’t fully grasp the exact meaning she intended to convey, he could at least confirm that she believed him.
“Like I said, I won’t lie.”
“…”
Shiratori opened her eyes wide, scrutinizing him a moment longer before sitting back on the sofa.
Following that, Shiratori picked up her teacup, taking a small sip.
Only after a moment did her lips part again.
“Do not get overly pleased with yourself.
Right now, you have merely obtained the most basic right to dialogue—trust.”
“Ah…
that’s more than enough.”
“I thought you would use this opportunity to probe me.
In the end, is this all?”
“There’s no probing involved at all!”
“…”
Shiratori didn’t reply, her hands holding the teacup hovering midair.
Her eyelids lowered slightly, her lips pressed tight as if deep in thought.
“Then why did you appear here?
Merely because of Yoshino’s request?”
“That’s because—um…”
[Shido, the options are up!
Hold on a second.]
Just as Shido was at a loss for how to answer, Kotori’s voice echoed in his right ear.
Immediately after, three options styled like a dating sim popped up in the dialogue box at the bottom of Fraxinus’s main screen.
① “Because I was captivated by you before, and seeing you again leaves me reluctant to part.”
② “Whatever the reason is doesn’t matter, right?”
③ “Because I am purely interested in you.”
The aggregated votes from every crew member instantly displayed on the handheld screen.
The option with the most votes was ③.
[Since Shiratori has a very vague grasp on emotions, why not use the third option to spark her curiosity in one go?
Go for it right now.]
Kotori raised her lollipop stick, speaking into the microphone.
“Because I am interested in you.”
“…”
A sudden flash of disgust crossed Shiratori’s face.
Those words evoked unpleasant memories.
“Is that so?
Then what kind of interest are we talking about?”
However, she didn’t let it show, quickly restoring her calm demeanor.
[Strange…
why did the affection rating drop?]
Kotori tilted her head in confusion, though the next round of options had already surfaced.
① “I am interested in you as a person.”
② “Your firearms and tech weapons look super cool! Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
I want them too!
(Praised with an intensely admiring tone)”
③ “I want to uncover the secrets you carry.”
“Hmm…
none of these feel particularly great.”
Kotori lightly rested her hand on her chin.
The options this time didn’t seem entirely appropriate for the target, but the AI aboard Fraxinus and the crew were all highly trustworthy.
Soon, the voting tally favoring Option ② gathered on the handheld screen.
“Commander, considering the target is a girl, I feel Option ② is more appropriate.”
“Indeed.
Praise itself is the best form of negotiation.
A Spirit living a lonely life would absolutely long for praise from others.”
The voices of crew members echoed from below the bridge, though none sounded particularly convincing.
Kotori crossed her legs and pondered for a moment.
“Alright then.
Options ① and ③ won’t have any effect on an emotional novice like Shiratori.
A direct, straight-shot attack might actually work better—Shido, the answer is ②!”
Shido’s expression suddenly turned into one of pure, unadulterated shock.
“Th-This…
this will definitely become a new dark history!!”
In the end, he was still worrying about creating another dark history, complaining in a somewhat incoherent mess.
However, Shiratori’s gaze had turned fierce, no longer allowing him time to negotiate with Kotori.
Taking a deep breath, Shido braced himself.
“Um…
your firearms and tech weapons look super cool!
Could you give me some too?!”
Having uttered those words in a state of utter humiliation, Shido’s face flushed bright red.
He immediately spun his body 180 degrees, burying his head deep between his knees while covering his face with his hands.
A new entry of dark history had indisputably been witnessed today.
Such was the thought in Shido’s heart—especially in front of so many people.
CRACK!
However, the sound of porcelain being crushed shattered the silence from behind.
Shido had no choice but to turn slightly, peering through the gaps between his fingers to observe her expression.
What met his eyes was black tea splashed across a table covered in porcelain shards, alongside the broken handle of the teacup remaining in her grip.
“W-What’s wrong with you?”
“…What kind of joke are you playing?”
“Eh?”
“What kind of joke are you playing?”
This time, Shido heard her clearly, but the utter gravity on Shiratori’s face instantly drained any composure he had left.
Shido had no idea that he had stepped directly onto a landmine.
“Stop making a joke out of this.”
Having repeated the sentiment three times, Shido swallowed his saliva nervously, his heart beginning to beat violently.
The tense atmosphere reached its absolute peak.
After her low muttering, neither side made a move, leaving only the words Shiratori kept repeating under her breath.
[Oh no!
Affection rating dropped to zero!
Shido, say something to save this!]
“Um…
what’s actually wrong with you?
I feel like you…
just wanted to be praised a little…”
A direct hit on a landmine—for the second time.
“WHAT KIND OF JOKE ARE YOU PLAYING?!”
For the very first time, pure rage appeared on her face.
The Reiryoku in Shiratori’s hands condensed at lightning speed, aiming a materialized bullet straight at Shido.
“You like the products of war so much?
Then experience it firsthand yourself!”
“No…
actually I—”
BANG!
The bullet struck Shido right in the shoulder.
Fresh blood sprayed into the air, reflecting her furious face.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?
DOESN’T IT?!”