“It should…
be here, right?”
Holding a paper bag containing a dessert box in his left hand and a note drawn with a map in his right, Shido let out a glum sigh before looking up at the apartment building towering in front of him.
Shiratori followed behind him with a serene expression.
“Question: Why do I have to come help you?”
Shiratori raised one hand to ask.
“Ah…
that’s because there’s strong electromagnetic interference near Tobiichi’s place, so I wanted to ask if you could help clear it.”
Hearing that, Shiratori blinked her eyes.
“If it’s electromagnetic interference, signals shouldn’t work across the entire building.
If there really is equipment that can isolate jammed signals around a single room, I’d actually like to see it for myself.”
[Great, she took the bait.]
After Shido finished his explanation, Kotori’s voice echoed through the earpiece worn in his right ear.
That’s right—Shido was currently on his way to visit Origami Tobiichi’s residence.
Using the promise of cracking electromagnetic interference as bait, he had lured Shiratori over to handle the research.
That way, communication between Shido and Fraxinus could proceed without any obstacles.
Of course, the most critical issue remained Yoshinon’s whereabouts: Ratatoskr had discovered that after the Spirit disappeared from the scene, Origami—who was preparing to return to base—picked up the puppet and carried it away.
Obtaining that puppet was an absolute necessity, which was why Shido had asked days ago if he could get permission to visit Origami’s home.
“…Still, I feel like this is a bit of an exaggeration.
For Ratatoskr, wouldn’t taking an item from a normal high school student’s house be as easy as pie?”
[If it were really that easy, would we even need to send you?!]
“Eh?”
Hearing Kotori’s sigh-laden response, Shido tilted his head.
“What a embarrassing organization.”
Shiratori had pulled out her laptop at some unknown moment, her fingers clacking away non-stop on the keyboard.
[Starting a few days ago, we tried infiltrating Tobiichi’s place, but failed three times in a row!
The interior is lined with infrared sensors, tear gas, and key locations are even set up with auto-tracking machine guns.
All six of our agents were injured and sent to the hospital.
Just who on earth is she fighting against…]
“I-Is that so…
Could it be…”
The corner of Shido’s mouth twitched as he shifted his gaze toward Shiratori.
[It’s not that one.
Shiratori seems to have been playing video games for the past few days, and rumor has it she’s already broken three national high score records.
If Ratatoskr hadn’t helped her block the reporters, photos of Shiratori probably would have hit the gaming news headlines by the very next day.]
“…Is it really that extreme?”
He really didn’t know whether to say Shiratori lacked necessary common sense, or if she had just grown less cautious over the past few days.
The paparazzi from the TV stations were absolutely pervasive.
Then the next day, the AST would show up with all kinds of large and small instruments to measure Reiryoku reactions, checking whether this girl who looked identical to “Shiratori” was actually that atrocious Spirit.
[That’s why we need to fill her in on some basic common sense, since she obviously can’t fathom the sheer tenacity of paparazzi.]
“Incomprehensible.
The logic of paparazzi cannot be verified using standard human reasoning.”
Shiratori offered her own view, as if affirming that Kotori’s statement was entirely correct.
“By the way…
how is Tohka doing?”
Unable to put the matter out of his mind, Shido tried asking Kotori.
[Same as before—locking herself in her room.]
“I see…”
“I suggest resolving the immediate problem first.
I have already neutralized the electromagnetic interference field, so your channel can remain open.”
Shiratori’s indifferent voice cut in, pulling Shido back to the most critical task at hand.
“Right, let’s head up then.”
Shido walked toward the apartment entrance, using the automatic door’s control panel in the lobby to input Origami’s room number.
Before long, Origami’s voice came through.
“Who is it?”
“Ah…
it’s me.
Itsuka Shido.”
“Come in.”
The moment she spoke, the inner lobby door unlocked and slid open.
Staaare.
Noticing that Origami’s voice was quite pleasant and soft, Shiratori’s gaze turned sharp once more.
“Hey, hey!
Don’t overthink it, we’re just normal classmates!”
For some reason, Shiratori seemed to mind this detail quite a bit.
After Shido explained, he was hurried into the apartment by Shiratori, riding the elevator up to the sixth floor until they arrived right outside the designated room number.
[Mm, the signal is crystal clear.
Looks like Shiratori really does have some serious skill.]
Seeing the signal indicator at maximum bars, Kotori spoke in a cheerful mood.
“Which means you are no longer needed.”
BZZZT!
Static suddenly flashed through the earpiece, abruptly cutting off Kotori’s voice until nothing but silence remained.
“Eh?”
Shiratori disabled the micro-camera as well, then turned around to face Shido with an emotionless expression.
“Wh—”
“Don’t ask why.
If you’re the type who can’t do anything without prompts from those people, I will snatch Yoshinon away after you find her, and ensure Yoshino never comes near you again.”
Seizing complete control of the conversation, Shiratori pinned Shido against the wall in a kabedon posture, causing Shido to gasp softly as a blush flushed across his face.
“I will do it, though right now I doubt whether you can find Yoshinon.
Prove it to me.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
“You…
saying that all of a sudden…”
DING-DONG!
Suddenly, the back of Shido’s head accidentally hit the doorbell button.
CLACK!
The door clicked open instantaneously—so fast it seemed as if Origami had been waiting at the entrance for the exact millisecond the doorbell rang.
Why does it always have to be such a coincidence every single time?!
If Origami sees this right now, she’s definitely going to go wild!
Shido roared internally, praying that Origami wouldn’t poke her head out.
Yet reality always betrayed expectations: Origami walked right out the front door, turned her head, and spotted them.
“…”
“H-Hello, Tobiichi…
sorry for…
the intrusion…”
His words stumbled out like a summons from the Grim Reaper, cold sweat running uncontrollably down his forehead as Shido gave an intensely awkward wave.
Origami froze in place, her eyes fixed on the two maintaining their kabedon pose.
He was about to die of embarrassment right here and now!
Just as Shido reached his breaking point, his eyes fell upon Origami’s outfit, his agonizing expression instantly turning to sheer bewilderment.
Granted, this was Origami’s own home, so she was free to wear whatever she wanted.
However…
never in his wildest dreams did he expect her to be dressed like this.
A deep blue dress paired with a frill-trimmed apron, topped with an adorable headband.
In a single word: a maid uniform.
“Apologies, I hope this didn’t cause a misunderstanding.”
Shiratori pulled her arm back, stepped slightly to the side, and bowed in apology.
“…”
Origami remained silent.
Her eyes drifted over Shiratori before she suddenly stepped closer, locking her gaze onto Shido.
Having barely recovered his composure, Shido’s face was covered in sweat once again, his mind consumed entirely by thoughts of “I’m dead, this is going to end horribly.”
“Shido.”
At that moment, she spoke.
“YES!”
“I want it too.
Whether it’s you pinning me against the wall or me pinning you, doing intimate things to me during it is fine too.
But preferably as much as possible.
As long as you are willing to do it, I won’t hold what just happened against you.”
Talk about taking advantage of a crisis!
Such was the inner wail echoing in Shido’s soul.