Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 21 - White Licorice

An eerie silence reigned over SDF Tenguu Garrison Hangar Two. It was not the middle of the night or anything, and yet there was absolutely no sign of any mechanics or AST combat personnel. Almost as if someone, for some reason, had ordered everyone to clear the room.
Slipping in through the unlocked back door, Origami silently turned her eyes toward her target.

"..."

Her footsteps echoed in a loud, jarring way, and she felt her pulse quicken at the noise. She forced herself to quietly take a deep breath.

She was wearing not her Raizen uniform, nor the outfit she was supposed to perform in that day, but the black wiring suit that was basic AST equipment. The wizard's armor that a human being donned to resist the Spirits, the battle costume that sharpened Origami's mind to the maximum.

That said, however, there was currently no spacequake alarm ringing, nor was she about to do any training exercises. She had another reason for wearing this suit now.

"..."

She stopped in front of a particular section of the hangar. Just by looking, she could tell that all the security protections were unlocked. No one would notice if someone snuck into the hangar and grabbed a CR unit. The situation was too perfect. Origami looked up at the unit before her.

"...Shidou," she said, swallowing to wet her dry throat.

Right after hearing Ryouko's magnificent "rant," Origami had begun to take a closer look at the movements of Jessica and her crew. That being said, she hadn't done much of anything, truth be told. There was no need.
Whenever Origami asked a member of the team anything, they quickly started to mutter "rants," ostensibly to themselves. Even Milly, who had stammered and held back before, spilled every last bean when Origami called her later, adding in her own complaints about the situation.

As she learned the elements of this mission, she shivered in fear.
The Spirit Tohka was one thing, but why were they also targeting Shidou? And why the Magician as well? They exactly know it's a close to impossible mission to capture a monster like him.

The question lingered in her head for a mere instant. This was because she had an inkling that she already knew the answer.

In April, she definitely shot Shidou to death. But for some miracle, Shidou was alive. It shouldn't make sense at all. It disobeys the laws of Nature completely. There have been rumors going around at the AST. Apparently, the origin source came from the Jessica and her group. The rumor was about a boy who is able to use the power of a Spirit. Origami speculated it might have been the Magician, but now, that thought was probably false. It was probably Shidou.

She had absolutely no idea why Shidou would possess such an ability, but if DEM Industries found out about it, then it made sense that they would also want to capture him. And if he were taken by DEM Industries, it wasn't hard to imagine what they would do to him.

"...I won't let that happen," Origami said in a quiet voice and took a step forward. Toward the crystallization of human wisdom sitting before her, the Combat Realizer unit.

If she took a CR unit without permission, she probably wouldn't be able to avoid disciplinary action. She would have her memory processed before being dismissed from the squad, and she would never touch a Realizer again. In other words, this was the same thing as losing the means to exact revenge on the Spirit who killed her parents.

"...!"

She froze in place when this realization struck her. But she clenched her teeth and pressed on.

She remembered all too well the feeling of helplessness when they were on their school trip and Shidou was in danger, but she had been unable to do anything. But this time was different.