The 'Silent Manifestation' is a special condition that occurs when a Spirit materializes in the physical world. Under this condition, the Spirit's appearance does not trigger a spacequake, nor are there any phenomena. More importantly, while in this state, the Spirit can remain in the physical world for an extended period without being forced back into the Neighboring World.
Since becoming a Spirit, Yumetsuki had constantly been trying to figure out how to control her Spirit powers—or more accurately, how to control her spacequakes.
She had managed to suppress the scale of the quakes, and to a certain extent, she could influence the location of her manifestation. But the 'Silent Manifestation' was the one thing Yumetsuki had never been able to find a consistent pattern for.
Out of her countless manifestations, triggering this phenomenon felt like having the odds of winning the lottery.
Yumetsuki was absolutely ecstatic.
Initially, she had only followed Kurumi's advice to visit Tengu City out of mild curiosity. She never expected that she would trigger a 'Silent Manifestation' on only her second visit.
The existence of Spirits was kept strictly confidential from the general public, meaning very few people actually knew what Yumetsuki looked like. In other words, as long as she was careful not to be spotted by AST, she could spend the entire day having a blast in Tengu City!
However, while her ideals were beautiful, reality was cruel.
It wasn't until she ran up to a storefront and prepared to step inside that Yumetsuki realized an incredibly serious problem.
She had no money.
It made perfect sense when she thought about it. Spirits were beings entirely shunned by human society from the get go; why would she magically have human currency in her pockets?
Laughing bitterly, Yumetsuki tried checking her inventory to see if she had any useless items she could pawn off for cash.
Her tablet... That was a possibility, but Yumetsuki needed it for way too many things, so that was a pass.
Her Astral Dress... If she sold that, was she supposed to walk around naked?
Ratziel... That thing was an object condensed purely from Spirit Energy; if left alone for too long, it would naturally dissipate. Even though it seemed plausible, doing that felt way too much like running a scam. Besides, once an Angel left a Spirit's hands, it was just a useless piece of art. It probably wouldn't fetch much money anyway.
Yumetsuki really, really wanted to find a certain God and beat the living crap out of him. When other people transmigrated, they were showered with endless cheat skills and welfare packages. Why did she constantly feel like she was getting the short end of the stick?
(The Author (Awkwardly): "Ahem!")
Having exhausted all her options, unable to resist the temptation any longer, Yumetsuki snuck over to a secluded bank ATM. After confirming no one was watching, she activated her powers.
I'm not a thief. I'm just withdrawing necessary living expenses. Besides, I'm a Spirit now! There's no reason for me to abide by the laws of human society.
Even though she tried to justify it to herself, for Yumetsuki—who was attempting a criminal act for the very first time across both her past and present lives—her heart was overflowing with guilt and anxiety.
"Ah!..Ryougi Yumetsuki!"
When her name was suddenly called out, Yumetsuki's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Startled, she lost control for a split second and accidentally pressed a few too many zeroes on the withdrawal amount.
Knock him out? Electrocut him? Erase his memories? Silence him permanently?!
In the time it took her to spin around, countless thoughts flashed through Yumetsuki's mind. In the end, she panicked and opted to just try and bluff her way out of it.
"U-Um! Listen to my explanation, things aren't what they look like... Ah, you're the boy from yesterday."
However, when she realized that the person who called out to her was Itsuka Shido—the boy who had confessed to her just yesterday—Yumetsuki completely froze.
A boy and a girl, reuniting amidst a storm of fluttering banknotes.
Rather than destiny, this felt more like a cursed twist of fate!
Shido was equally stunned. Even though he had already met quite a few Spirits through circumstances that completely defied common sense, reuniting amidst a shower of cash was a first even for him. He was completely at a loss for how he was supposed to react.
Breaking the silence, Yumetsuki was the first to act. Moving at an incomprehensible speed, she gathered all the banknotes scattered on the ground and fluttering in the air, shoving them into the inner pockets of her trench coat. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed Shido by the collar and took off, dragging him along through the air as she fled the scene of the crime.
-----Fleeing the scene divider line-----
"Mhm... This should be far enough."
Yumetsuki arrived at an observation deck in a park that offered a clear, panoramic view of Tengu City. If it had been dawn or dusk, this spot would undoubtedly provide breathtaking scenery.
However, since it was just past noon, Yumetsuki only came here because she saw that the place was completely deserted.
"Blergh—"
As for Shido, having been treated like a human kite by a Spirit with monster level physical specs, he was currently kneeling on the ground, heaving and looking half dead.
"Hah... Hah... I seriously thought I was going to die."
"Uh, sorry 'bout that, boy. But consider this your punishment for peeping on a maiden's secret. As a man, just accept it like a man."
Yumetsuki patted Shido on the shoulder, spouting absolute nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"What kind of 'maiden's secret' involves stealing money?! That was straight-up a crime!"
Faced with Shido's perfectly logical retort, Yumetsuki guiltily averted her eyes and immediately changed the subject.
"Well... I do feel a little bad for you, Shido-boy. But don't worry, I'll properly compensate you."
"Are we just going to completely ignore your criminal behavior?!"
But Shido wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.
"Tch!" Yumetsuki secretly clicked her tongue. Then, as if giving up, she spread her hands and admitted fault. "I know I was in the wrong. Since I got caught, I guess it can't be helped. I'll handle this properly."
"As long as you understand..."
Hearing Yumetsuki admit her mistake, Shido's expression immediately softened. Spotting this exact moment, an imperceptible, devious smile crept onto Yumetsuki's face.
"Speaking of which, I really do need to give you some compensation, Shido-boy!"
"Eh? No, I don't need anything. As long as you acknowledge what you did was wrong, it's fine."
"No, no, no! Those are two completely different things! You must be compensated for your emotional distress. Come, hold out your right hand."
Slightly confused, Shido held his right hand out flat. Before he could even react, Yumetsuki slapped a thick stack of banknotes right into his palm.
"What are you doing?!"
Shido looked at Yumetsuki in utter panic, while a triumphant smirk spread across her lips.
"Didn't I tell you? I said I'd handle it properly. Now that you, Shido-boy, have touched this money, you have no choice but to stand as my accomplice."
"Is that what you meant by 'handling it properly'?!?!"
"Don't worry, Shido-boy. One hundred thousand yen is more than enough to buy a Hakurei Reimu."
"What exactly am I supposed to not worry about?!"
Relying on her superhuman Spirit strength, Yumetsuki completely ignored Shido's struggles and slowly, forcefully shoved the wad of cash into his pocket.
"Heheh. Let's see you try to lecture me now, Shido-boy."
"You really are..." Staring at the girl who had her chin raised proudly like a swan, laughing triumphantly, Shido was stunned for a moment before finally letting out a defeated sigh.
"Why do you even need that much money anyway?"
"Uh... Well, I don't have any money on me, but there are places I want to spend it..." Yumetsuki paused, coughed lightly, and said awkwardly.
"So you decided to rob an ATM."
Seeing that Yumetsuki didn't deny it, Shido facepalmed and sighed.
Then, Yumetsuki looked at Shido, a thoughtful expression passing through her eyes. With a grand wave of her hand, she declared:
"Come to think of it, your timing is perfect. I just arrived in this city and I don't know my way around. Since you're my accomplice now, Shido-boy, how about you act as my tour guide?"
Being alone in an unfamiliar place meant that many of the things she wanted to do would be extremely difficult. Having a local to help her out was undoubtedly the best-case scenario. Even though she was slightly worried about dragging him into danger, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fully enjoy human society was a temptation Yumetsuki simply couldn't resist.
"Me? Actually, I was just about to..."
Shido was about to say that he was heading out to buy ingredients for Tohka and the others' dinner. But then, a thought struck him—wasn't this the absolute perfect opportunity to conquer Ryougi Yumetsuki?
According to Kotori, Yumetsuki's spatial quakes occurred over an extremely wide, practically global area. Her appearing in Tengu City once was already a stroke of incredible luck; her appearing twice in a row was nothing short of miraculous.
He couldn't bank on a miracle happening a third time. Taking advantage of this legitimate excuse to stick by Yumetsuki's side and raise her affection levels was undeniably the best strategy.
If Kotori had heard Shido's tactical analysis just now, she would have probably shed a tear of pride over her excellent "teaching."
Sorry, Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino. Looks like I won't be able to make anything fancy today after all.
After silently apologizing in his heart, Shido flashed what he believed was his most sincere, refreshing smile. "I don't actually have any special plans. I can accompany you wherever you want to go."
"Is that so?" Yumetsuki cast a highly skeptical look at the suddenly overly enthusiastic Shido. Seeming to misunderstand his intentions, she emphasized seriously: "Just to be clear, this is absolutely not a date!"
"Ugh!" Shido instantly recalled the devastating "Good Guy Card" he was dealt yesterday. His face paled slightly and his chest ached, but he gritted his teeth, maintained his smile, and said, "I know. Don't worry."
"Is that so..."
Looking at the profoundly pitying gaze Yumetsuki was directing at him, Shido's intuition told him that she was definitely misunderstanding something.