The Ratatoskr's round table was in a heavy discord.
But this is hardly surprising. One person, Clayton, had launched Dáinsleif beyond his authority, and in order to prevent it, even the mysterious Spirit Phantom had emerged.
"Phantom.........?! What does this mean?! Why did that Spirit appeared?!"
"No, we were really lucky. Whatever the reason is, we didn't lose the Reiryoku we've been collecting. Clayton, you were too hasty!"
"What are you saying?! If I didn't start the attack, the situation would not have improved."
"However, you didn't have that privilege to fire it. This is a serious violation."
"Well, more important than that is Phantom. Can you think of ways to catch it? That being is able to turn humans into Spirits. If we had that power..."
Wam! Woodman irritatedly hit the table.
"Shut up, brats."
".........! "
Woodman spoke in a cold voice, the three executives held their breaths.
"I did not tell you to follow my lead, but at least you should comply with the agreement. If you want to violate the agreement, then I also have my intentions."
"........." Glaring at the nervous trio, Woodman continued.
"Disposal aside, you will be notified of Clayton's punishment later."
"At the disposal of.........? You say you want me punished?! I'm doing this only for Ratatoskr's sake.........!"
"It's true Sir Woodman. He did temper some impatience, but he..."
"I said shut it Almsted. You really think I wouldn't notice? In your mind, do you think I'm so foolish?"
"............"
After listening to the words of Woodman, Almsted fell completely silent.
Woodman thought that someone as simple as Clayton can't prepare everything by himself alone. The key to Dáinsleif was probably created by Almsted and passed to Clayton. It's expectable from Almsted who doesn't like getting his hands dirty. Clayton likely didn't even notice Almsted's involvement.
"If you value your life, avoid ever doing such reckless actions again. I'm not saying this on my behalf. This message was send by Lucas." When Woodman mentioned the name of that person, a cold sensation wrapped Clayton and Almsted's body, and their faces started sweating profusely.
"I'm calling an end to today's meeting. Everyone, remember to be cautious with your footsteps."After much talking, Woodman let Karen push his wheelchair out of the meeting room.
◇
"Nn........."
With a soft moan, Lucas opened his eyes.
This is not his own room, but similar to the infirmary at school. After a few seconds, Lucas finally perceived himself to be in Ratatoskr's facility.
"Oh, you woke up?" After hearing the sound, Lucas looked around and found Reine.
"Reine...?" Lucas said her name, trying to get up from the bed. "Nngh...!" But his body didn't allow him to. His body ached everywhere.
"....Don't move. Your body is not in a state where you can move normally." Reine said in a sleepy voice.
"Just why----ah." Lucas mind then finally grasped the reason why he's here. "I see...After that I-" Lucas had lost consciousness shortly after Tohka had kissed Shidou. It might be because he lost too much blood, or maybe because he exhausted himself too much...maybe even both.
"Ah.........Where are the others?" After hearing his question, Reine nodded.
"...The Spirits have just finished their examination. Shin is just half-way done."
"Huh? Finished...? How long was I asleep?" Lucas asked, confused. Examination don't take just a few hours, they're spread across multiple days, even weeks.
"Mhm. You've been asleep for a 11 days."
"Eleven days...?!" Lucas shouted, and immediately pressed his cramping gut.
"...Be a little quieter." Reine said in a hushed voice, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. Behind her was a bed, and a girl who was sleeping. The girl had long black hair that has been tied into two low pig tails.
"Kurumi...." Yes, it was Kurumi who was away to rescue Nia.
"I had allowed her to sleep here since she can't sleep if she wasn't looking at your condition." Reine explained, and Lucas couldn't help but smile.
"Did Kurumi come back with a Spirit by any chance?" When Lucas asked, Reine lazily shook her head.
"Unfortunately, she told me that the Spirit disappeared when Kurumi found the transporter. We couldn't trace her whereabouts yet, but at the very least, she isn't in DEM's hands anymore."
"I see...what a relief." Lucas sighed, and relaxed his body.
"....It'll take a few more days until you fully recover. We will have Realizers on standby to aid your recovery."
◇
Along with a deep humming sound, the bed was gradually sucked up into a large machine.
"Uh..."
On the bed was Kunshu Lucas who slowly lowered his eyelids and closed his eyes. Even before now, he had already received several inspections, but as expected, he could never get accustomed to this feeling.
It was a primal fear all organisms had, a fear not unlike being swallowed whole by a massive animal. After Lucas' body was encased entirely inside the machine, an invisible light of an x-ray passed through his body.
Only a few minutes later, the machine finally removed itself from the bed where Lucas was lying.
"It's done, Lucas."
"Nng..." Upon hearing that voice from above him, Lucas slowly opened his eyes.
Next to the bed, there was a girl and a boy.
The girl was accompanied by the Chupa-Chups sticking out of her mouth. Anyone who looked at her would simply think that she was some normal, cute girl.
However, what was unusual compared to those, was the crimson military uniform that she was wearing. That, alongside the flat expression on her face, created a strange impression, as if she was too young for the clothes she was wearing.
It was clear, this girl could be none other than Ratatoskr's commander, Itsuka Kotori, and right next to her was her older Brother, Itsuka Shidou, who had just went through the same examination just now.
"How's your physical condition?"
"Aah, there's nothing wrong. But... how long will we be examined like this?"
"I wonder that too...it feels like it's already been half a month."
That's right, up until now, for the two times after he sealed a Spirit's Reiryoku, he had to undergo this kind of examination. However, only recently, the frequency of these examinations had increased.
Though he himself already understood the mechanisms of the machine they used, the MRI's machinery and tools still created an imposing cross section of the cylinder. The large orifice at the entrance made it look like a serpent.
Seeing their reactions, Kotori sighed.
"You both already understand, right? Your bodies' conditions."
At the beginning of the month, something interfered with the path between them and the Spirits.
Rather than Spirits' powers going berserk, it was their powers that went rampant. Unlike Lucas however, Shidou did end up going completely berserk, and Lucas had used power beyond his body's capabilities to stop him.
"Sorry... and thanks. I can't remember anything that happened at that time. I don't know what else to say..." Shidou said in an apologetic manner.
"Once we both recover enough, I'll force you through a heck load of exercises to strengthen your weak body."
"Guh....!" Shidou groaned when Lucas said that. The reason why Lucas did not go berserk is because his body's limit is worlds beyond Shidou's. If Shidou's body was stronger more durable, the outcome could have been avoided.
"...Sorry for intruding." A quiet voice could be heard from the door.
"Ah, Reine. You're pretty fast. Are the results already done?"
And then everyone's facial expressions grew serious, they ambled over in the direction of the voice. As Lucas, Shidou and Kotori walked together, they noticed the person looking at them from the door.
There stood a woman wearing a Ratatoskr uniform with long hair in a simple hairstyle and an old stuffed teddy bear put into her breast pocket. That stuffed bear had lots of scratches and stitches, and the woman's face looked so pale. Her voluptuous breast pressed together on the bear, giving them the illusion of being even bigger.
Murasame Reine is an analyst here, as well as one of Kotori's closest companions.
"...Yes. This thing operates similarly to the Fraxinus. The machine itself has a Realizer installed in it as well." As she was saying this, Reine pointed to some documents on the clipboard she held.
"...Look at this, Shin's and Lucas' spiritual energy from the beginning of the month until now have fallen down to normal levels. This equipment wasn't able to detect any abnormal Reiryoku. The current status of the path between both of you and the Spirits are normal now too... With this, you two can go back to the usual medical checkup frequency as before."
"Really? That's a relief."
"Ahh. I'll have time to take care of the kitchen again."
Right now Lucas and the others were inside an underground facility owned by Ratatoskr. Because the Fraxinus is still under repair, they had to use this underground facility for the medical checkups instead.
In addition, half of a month has already passed since that day, and the end of the month was quickly approaching. Right now, school is on break for the winter holidays, and after this, there's New Year's. Starting from now, until the end of the holiday season, they could use their time freely for anything. Thanks to that, Lucas could finally relax.
However, upon seeing their reactions,
"...But." Reine continued her words. "...After this, we need to talk about something related to your conditions. Shin's in particular."
"Eh...?"
With a worried tone, Shidou's facial expression unintentionally tensed up.
"What do you mean... don't tell me, something happened to the Spirits too!?"
"...No, that's not what I mean... It's about the fitness test records you two made when you were sick, plus Shin's actions when you seduced Ai, Mai, Mii, and Miss Okamine during your rampage. We still have yet to create stories for those."
"Shit...." Drops of sweat formed on Lucas' forehead.
Right, when the path got disturbed, Shidou's consciousness became hazy, it felt like he wandered around half-conscious. He heard from others that his behavior was very strange at the time.
"...About those unusual records, we'll try to deal with it. The ball throw is probably the most troublesome....we might be able to say that Lucas threw a shot put ball, but the distance between him and the goal frame was still way more than the world record. I think we still have a chance to make up an explanation though."
"Well, I don't think it will be that easy..."
"Y-Yeah..."
But, rather than letting others know about the existance of Spirits, Lucas and Shidou chose to agree with this plan.
However, the real problem was the other one. Reine also understood this as well.
Up until now, this problem has been unsolved.
"As for the Ai, Mai, and Mii case, you can pass it off as a joke. That leaves only one thing left to be explained. What Shin said to Miss Okamine. We were able to cancel the wedding ceremony reservation, but..."
"Gwah!" Upon hearing those unexpected words from Reine's mouth, Shidou started coughing violently. "W-Wedding ceremony reservation...!?"
"...Yes. Somehow, we managed to explain what happened to her, so she already understands the situation. Still, she wanted to make sure that it was a mistake, directly from your mouth. I'll arrange a place for you to meet her, hopefully we can fix this problem before the holiday season is over."
"...Kuh, that'll be pretty difficult..." Swarms of possibilities begin appearing inside Shidou's mind.
Just then, a noise could be heard coming from Reine's uniform pocket. A ringing from an alarm.
"...Mhm, so it's already time."
"Do you have some other business to handle?"
"...Yes. Let's meet again later, at the next appointment."
"Is that so? Well, I'll be excusing myself for now." As Lucas excused himself, Reine assented to his plan and Kotori waved her hand.
"What are you going to do, Shidou?" Kotori asked.
"Hm... I'll probably go home and prepare dinner. I think we still have some ingredients at home." Shidou said.
"I'll be home by dinner time then. Do you need a car to get back?"
"A-aah. That'll be a good help."
"What about you, Lucas?"
"Hm? Now that Shidou mentioned it, I need to go shopping for some ingredients."
"I understand. I'll see you next time then."
"Yeah, see ya." Lucas waved his hand and promptly left the room, leaving Kotori and Shidou behind.
After that, he went next door to the locker room and changed his clothes. Walking through the hallway in a relaxed manner.
On the way, he took out his cell phone from his pocket to confirm the time; it wasn't quite 2:00PM yet.
"Well... there's still some time left. Until then, what should I do...?"
Lucas' mind was filled with ideas of what kind of menu to have for tonight's dinner. His brisk footsteps echoed down the hallway.
As he was walking, he could hear the sound of footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hallway.
"Oh, Lucas. Are you returning home now?"
"Is your exam finished already?"
The man was wearing distinct gloves and glasses, and the girl had eye-catching shoulder length hair. She was the one who had called out to him. They were fellow Ratatoskr members, Nakatsugawa Munechika and Shiizaki Hinako. It seems they just got back from shopping themselves, as they were both holding white vinyl bags in their hands.
"Yeah, I'm finally free since everything seems to have recovered to a normal level."
"Haha, that's good. It's good to make sure your body is doing well."
"I agree. Always treasure your body."
"Haha... I will. Did the both of you just come back from shopping?"
"Yes. It's pretty hard to be able to go out when we're stationed in the Fraxinus, but here, we can go out a lot more freely."
"Aah, it sure is."
Lucas nodded in agreement at them. The entrance part to this underground facility leads directly to Tenguu City's main section. A sprawling collection of buildings in every spot along the street, including some civilian homes. Understandably, the two of them seemed much happier staying in a place like this. The city, after all, offered more to them than the Fraxinus.
Of course, as Ratatoskr members, they can't let civilians know about their organization. So Nakatsugawa, Shiizaki, and the others aren't wearing their usual uniforms. Instead, they have formal coats that look more ordinary, like most company uniforms would look. They also had id cards hanging around their necks to authenticate that company employee look.
With Ratatoskr's backing, there's no way these disguises wouldn't be airtight.
"Well, somehow I do feel a little bit lonely. As a man, I miss the sensation of doing my duty on the airship---Pushing myself to my limit! Hopefully the Fraxinus' repairs will be finished posthaste!"
Then, Nakatsugawa clenched his hand and raised his fist, his glasses starting to glitter. Lucas made a slight smile at Nakatsugawa's slightly childish behavior... Still, as a guy, Lucas understood what Nakatsugawa meant.
"So... what did the two of you buy?"
When Lucas asked, the two smiled and showed off the contents of their bags.
Inside there were lots of sweets that Kotori probably asked them to buy.
"Chupa-Chups, right?"
"Eh, you knew already?" Shiizaki gave a surprised expression, but also smile in response.
"Well, yeah... Who else keeps snacking sweet stuff on Fraxinus aside from Kotori?" When Lucas joked, Shiizaki and Nakatsugawa laughed.
"I also bought some sweet stuff to keep in stock, and this too!"
Next, Nakatsugawa took out a book from the vinyl bag.
He pulled out a Shōnen manga magazine, with a front cover illustration of a boy set up in a pose with a huge sword. At the top of the cover was a printed logo that read Weekly Shōnen Blast.
"Hmm? Is this... Blast?"
"That's right. They had the latest issue on sale today. Have you ever read it?"
"Of course, that should be obvious. I don't think there's anyone in our era who hasn't read this magazine." Lucas answered.
"And...what is that...?" Lucas tilted his head in wonder. Nakatsugawa pointed his finger to the bottom left side of the front cover to guide Lucas' eyes.
"What do you mean, this is... Eh?"
Not believing what he was seeing, Lucas closely took a look once more.
Upon seeing his reaction, Nakatsugawa nodded in satisfaction.
"Right. After such a long hiatus, Honjou Souji's series Silver Bullet, just resumed publication again this month!"
"Ah, you're right. I used to read that too. For some reason, it's been on hiatus this whole time, right?"
"Right! The author and the publisher picked up the series again. They said the reason for the hiatus was because the author was suddenly very ill, but it turns out, that wasn't enough to keep it down forever, Honjou-sensei is finally working again! For this to be happening after so long... I really can't believe it, I can finally continue to read Silver Bullet, how unbelievable, I really never thought this would happen...!"
"Mhm. That's nice."
Captivated by their conversation, Lucas and Nakatsugawa continued while Shiizaki looked on, somewhat disinterested, and took out her cell phone from her pocket and brought it up to her ear.
"Yes, this is Shiizaki speaking... Ah, yes. Understood. We'll be there right away." She ended the call.
"I'm sorry Lucas, but we have to go now. Here, can we leave this to you to give to the Commander?"
She raised her hand, and handed the shopping bag over to him. Lucas took the bag, nodding in response to Shiizaki.
"It's alright. You two focus on your work."
"We're saved, thank you very much. Well then..."
Shiizaki bowed and walked off in a hurry down the hall, quickly vanishing from his sight. Seeing her off, Nakatsugawa also bid his farewell.
"Then, I'll excuse myself too. Before break time is over, I'll make sure to finish reading this chapter of Silver Bullet!"
"Haha... See you later then."
After Lucas said goodbye to him, he walked off in the direction Shiizaki had gone, though she was already gone by now.
"Then~ let's hurry up and deliver this to her."
Because the shopping bag was light, it was no trouble and he came back in no time at all. Even the door of the room was still opened.
"Heyyy, Kotori. Here's the stuff you wanted from Shiizaki... Eh?"
Instantly, Lucas body froze.
But that reaction was normal. Inside the room were Kotori and Reine, but there was also another girl being gripped tightly... Kotori abruptly threw the girl onto the bed and was violently trying to remove that same girl's hospital gown.
"Kya~! Kyaaaaaaa!"
"You! Stay still...! And take off your clothes!"
"K-Kotori...?"
Right in front of his eyes, there was a garden of lilies blooming. Lucas' heartbeat began beating faster. Just then, Kotori noticed his presence, and her shoulders started to shake.
"L-Lucas!? Didn't you leave already?"
"W-well, just now I was asked to deliver these to you..." Lucas averted his gaze from her.
"How do I put this... Sorry, but you should never force someone to do something against their will you know..."
"You're completely misunderstanding!" Kotori tried to explain. She fixed the girl's clothes a bit and removed her hands from her, then got up so Lucas could see who it was.
She was a girl that looked like she was around Kotori's age, her hair tied up into a ponytail, and there was a small mole below her left eye.
Wearing the same hospital clothes that Lucas was in just now; there's only one reason she would be wearing those. She must not be in good condition.
Finally recognizing the figure, Lucas widened his eyes.
"Mana?"
"Eh...? Ah, Lucas!" The girl responded with a surprised yelp.
Right there was Shidou's self-proclaimed blood-related little sister, Takamiya Mana.
"Yes. There's nothing in particular wrong, but we still need to do a detailed examination on her, yet this girl keeps refusing."
"There's no need, because Mana doesn't feel sick at all~ that's just how it is! I'm alright!"
"..."
Kotori glared as she said that. Mana shirked away under her stare, with sweat running down her cheeks.
Come to think of it, he remembered, back when Shidou's Reiryoku went out of control, DEM came to attack them. Mana was one of the girls who had intervened Ellen's plans.
"Thanks for stopping Ellen at that time, Mana."
"Lucas...Hmph. Take it as a payment for saving Nii-sama, you bastard."
"Come on, you little..." Lucas distorted his expression. Kotori then sighed.
"Don't misunderstand me. It's not like I'm actually angry. If you weren't there at that time, I don't know what would have happened. And for that, I'm truly grateful."
Mana could feel the emotion behind Kotori's words, so she relaxed herself a little upon hearing that. But suddenly, Kotori put much more strength into her grip on Mana's shoulder.
"That's why, there's no need for you to be afraid. So don't be so scared about the fact that you went out without caring about your body, or about recklessly using a Realizer, or the fact that you went completely dark after, and yet exchanged contact with Reine without me knowing. I'm not bothered by it even a liiiiiiiiiitle bit."
"H-Hiiiiiiii!?" Kotori's fingers gripped tightly onto Mana's shoulders. Tears started to flow from her eyes and she swung her head around repeatedly.
"Don't try to escape this time, okay? Just get through this examination, and you'll receive proper treatment. Prepare yourself, we'll examine you in places that even you didn't know existed."
"Kyaaa~! Kyaaaaaaaaa!"
As she was saying that, Kotori continued to tighten her grip on Mana's shoulder. Mana's legs began to shake and she started screaming.
"Save meeeee!"
"Nope, see yaaaa."
Despite Mana's screams, Lucas left the bag for Kotori nearby and walked out from the inspection room to the elevator. He passed three layers of electronic doors and finally arrived in the outer building. Compared to the interior design of the underground facility, the outside was fairly ordinary.
As he walked outside, Lucas remembered what he was supposed to do.
"Next..."
A certain place came to mind as he continued to walk.
Even though it's only the day after Christmas, the shopping district's street decorations have already been changed from a western-style to a very Japanese-style. The Christmas trees which were lined up in front of the stores had already been exchanged with a row of New Year's decorations in anticipation for the approaching date. Not only that, even Santa Claus and his Reindeer were nowhere to be seen. Only packages of cake left on the top shelves are left, even though it didn't fit the mood anymore.
Certainly, this wasn't the first time Lucas had seen this instant change. In fact, this happened every year, but he still thought it was an interesting phenomenon. After all, all the people who had been celebrating Christmas until now were already back to their daily lives and patiently awaiting the New Year. Although there were also several national festivals unrelated to these holidays being celebrated as well. Those will all be included in a huge event over the week. During that time, everyone will be quite busy, that's inevitable.
Lucas, while walking along the street, looked at the store's decorations filled with New Year's spirit, and made a brief sound in awe as he exhaled.
"Even though this is something that happens every year... The instant change still is impressive. People's moods sure do change fast."
Even if he said as such, it's not like Lucas was complaining about it at all. No, rather, he's expressing his wonderment and welcoming this event on his own.
Seeing the town being lively is a good thing, and above all thanks to this, there are lots of rare ingredients out on display in front of the stores. There are also so many discounts offered during the holidays. Just looking around, he felt like this was going to make cooking much more fun.
"What should I do now..."
Lucas placed his hand on his chin as he thought. They should make less for tonight's dinner than what they made during Christmas. Besides, New Year's Eve and New Year's will be here in just a few days. Even if Lucas had all the money to cover as much food as he wanted, eating too much wouldn't be good either.
Thus he decided that he won't have too much today, but Lucas made up his mind that he'll make sure tonight's menu is delicious at least.
"Perhaps a Japanese menu would be good... I haven't eaten fish at all recently."
He said to himself with a cheerful tone, then nodded without saying any more.
It was already 2:30 p.m. The sun was still rising towards its peak. However, the temperature was still rather low, as it was now the last week of December. Thanks to last summer, he already knew some of the ingredients that he had to buy, and so he headed off to a familiar store. He looked around and somewhat quickly collected everything he needed to buy.
"...Okay. It should be here, right?"
Only thirty minutes later, Lucas finished buying all the ingredients he needed for dinner. As he walked down the street and out of the shopping district, he began heading back home.
However...
"...Hmm?" Suddenly, something stopped Lucas just around the corner of the street.
But that was natural. In front of Lucas right now, there was a girl that had fallen unconscious in the street.
"Wha...!?"
Faced with this unexpected situation, Lucas' shoulders trembled a bit.
"A-Are you alright!?" He rushed to where the girl was. Placing his shopping bags on the street, he tried to help her stand up.
But--- Lucas stopped his hands. He remembered that if you happen to find someone unconscious, then it's better not to move their body around recklessly. If this girl was a victim of a traffic accident and hit her head somewhere, changing her posture would likely become fatal.
This girl was only wearing a coat on top of thin casual clothes. That's how she was dressed. In addition, despite this cold weather, she was only wearing a pair of sandals without any stockings or socks.
Maybe she lived nearby or something, because that's the only thing that would make sense for someone to dare to go outside in these kinds of clothes during the winter. Well... Lucas can't judge too much since he doesn't have much on either....only a thin jacket over regular outdoor clothes.
While Lucas was wondering what he should do, the girl unexpectedly moved her fingertips.
She slowly, and unsteadily raised her head up. The face of the girl who was just kissing the ground began to show.
"H-huh?" From her appearance, she probably was only one or two years older than Lucas. She looked tired and her lips very dry. Her face seemed pallid, clear signs of fatigue. Her eyes had heavy bags and large dark circles. Rather than being hit by a car, it seemed more likely to say she had collapsed from overworking. But Lucas wasn't concerned about that. Rather--- he knew this person.
"N-Nia...?" Yes, the Spirit, who disappeared after being rescued, was infront of him.
Nia focused her eyes on Lucas' face and moved her lips to speak. She let out a voice so small that sounded as if she was crying.
"...mach...ty..."
"Eh? What did you say? What happened?" Lucas listened in more intently, and Nia once again repeated what she said.
"...My stomach is empty..."
"...Huh?" Lucas widened his eyes unintentionally when he heard this. Then, from the girl's stomach came out a deep rumbling sound.
After a few minutes passed, Lucas was supporting Nia, who had fallen on the ground, as they walked along the street.
"...Nng~ so sorry~ boy..." Lucas was carrying that girl on piggyback as she let out a voice remiss of any vigor.
In the end, although she was at least conscious, it seemed that she couldn't move due to her empty stomach. So Lucas had no other choice than to help escort her to her home.
"Don't worry about it... Besides that, are you really alright? Are you sure I shouldn't take you to the hospital instead?"
"Yes~ Alright~ Alright~ I'm not sick, I promise. Moreover, wouldn't it just waste time to get there?" Nia fluttered her hands around.
"By the way, no need to be so proper like that~ We're friends, right?~"
"For someone who was just rescued after being captured for multiple years, you sure are careless." Lucas said, in a slightly irritated tone. Right, he rescued this girl, only for her to be captured again shortly after she got released.
"Hehe~ my bad my bad~" Nia said jokingly.
Contrary to the girl's slender appearance, she was quite bold. Truly an unpredictable girl.
In the first place, collapsing from hunger in an advanced country like Japan nowadays should be pretty uncommon. Though, while this unpredictable scene was just too surprising, he still hasn't heard what her circumstances are yet. It makes him really wonder what in the world happened to her.
"Ah, please go towards that building over there."
As Lucas was considering the situation, Nia raised her right arm and pointed in the opposite direction from where they were heading.
Lucas widened his eyes as his gaze followed the direction of the girl's fingertip.
Right there, where she was pointing, was an enormous building, with a height seemingly twice as tall as any other neighboring building. It was a luxurious high-rise apartment building.
"Eh? Over here?"
"Hmm... That's right... Ah, don't tell me you were expecting me to live in a more worn-out apartment?"
"No, I didn't think..." Lucas hesitated to answer for a moment. In fact, she was right with her guess. What was her occupation again...? Lucas couldn't really recall many memories of Nia. Truth be told, he would've completely forgotten about Nia if she weren't a Spirit.
"Ehehe... Come on, that's nothing. How should I put this? You see, it's all about the gap. Something like that has happened to you before, right? Like any other teenager."
"Umm... I'm not quite sure I get what you mean."
Lucas knitted his eyebrows as he talked to her... Suddenly talking about a gap in her appearance, he really can't grasp this girl's personality at all.
"Ah, boy, I'm sorry but can you please bring me up to my room? I don't know why, but for some reason my legs aren't moving at all~ Is it because I rarely use my legs that they've degenerated~?"
"Maybe you should consider exercising."
"Are you implying I'm heavy?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
Anyhow, It's not like he has other pressing matters right now, so he doesn't really have a reason to refuse anyway.
Lucas, as he was piggybacking Nia, walked through the mansion's entrance and arrived in front of the automatic door.
"Then..."
Usually for such high class apartments, they have auto-locking doors for security, but the pin number should only be known by actual residents, and the person in question wasn't in the position to type the pin number.
Prying into the security of somewhere he doesn't live isn't something very admirable, but the current situation limited his choices.
"I'll close my eyes, so while I do that..."
"Ah, the room number is 1801, and the pin number is 1234, okay?"
"Security!?" Dumbfounded by the girl's words, Lucas unintentionally let out a strange voice.
"Eh, what was with that shout just now? It's super amusing. Do it again, again~"
"Forget that! You shouldn't let others know stuff like that so easily!"
"Eh? Why?"
The girl asked back in a surprised manner. Lucas scratched his head out of stress and continued talking.
"That's not good for the security of this place, isn't it!? If someone else other than the residents knows the password, then he could just come in and out as he pleased! I'm a guy you know!"
Lucas explained his theory in a high pitched voice. The girl then went and covered her mouth with her hand delicately.
"You would do something like that, boy? No way, that's so surprising."
"I won't! I'm only teaching you common sense!"
"...Ah~ I see. Even though you looked like an herbivore, you're actually a carnivore... Perhaps this really is what you call a gap. I'm a bit wiser now."
"Do you even listen when others are talking to you!?"
"I'm listening, I'm listening. I'm super listening... Anyways, I just want to know for reference, if a boy went into a girl's room, what's the first thing he would do?"
"You really aren't listening, are you!?" Lucas raised his voice at the girl, up to a shout. Suddenly he felt like someone was staring at them.
"Hmm...?"
And over there, there was someone staring at him with a sharp gaze... Lucas suddenly realized his mistake.
There stood the figure of a woman. That woman must be this apartment's manager... Seemingly, she was this building's caretaker, and because Lucas and this girl are making such a ruckus at the front of the entrance of her building, she looked at them with nothing but suspicion and contempt. It appeared that she intended to call the police, because she already grabbed for her phone.
"A-Ahaha..."
Lucas made a feeble and insincere smile, he input the door's pin number he heard from the girl earlier, and the automatic door opened immediately.
"...I'm coming in."
"Aye-aye sir~"
Nia responded with a carefree tone. Lucas sighed, and he walked out from the lobby and into the corridor.
After that, he took the elevator. He could see the wonderful decorations in the room below before as they headed to the girl's room.
"...Hey, we're here. Is it okay if I just put you down here?"
"Hmm~ thank you. But if you leave me like this, I'll surely be dead later."
"...Haa. Then, give me the key. I'll open it."
"Roger that. Ah, but the key is in my back pocket, so please take it out gently~"
"Why did you put it there!?" Lucas shouted as the girl tangled her arms around his neck.
"I didn't mean anything bad you know. I only wanted to show my gratitude for helping me out twice, so I thought I should give you a little service to revitalize you. Even if you stick your hand in the wrong place, I'm okay as long as it's in the upper part of my pants."
"What are you even saying!?"
"Hmm~ No~ Well~ I think I wanted to show you my gratitude at least, so I kept pushing 'mine' onto you this whole time, but you didn't show any reaction at all~ So perhaps you had butt fetish instead? That's what I thought."
"Do you even have a shred of common sense!?"
"Ah, or maybe boy is only interested in huge breasts? You're not interested in a bust below eighty centimeters? I'm sorry about that~ I really can't do anything about this~"
"Can you not impose your strange fetishes on someone else!?" Lucas kept shouting for a while, and then once again, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Forget it, just hand over the key, or I'll leave you here."
"Aw. It seems like I have no choice~"
After saying that, the girl put her hand into her back pocket.
"Ah... So suddenly... Kya..."
"Don't make strange voices behind someone's back..."
"What's that? You're no fun." Nia puffed out her cheeks, and she handed over the key. Lucas promptly opened the door and went inside the room.
"I'm sorry for intruding."
"I forgive you for intruding~"
"..."
"Eh, you're not going to be my straight man anymore?" Ignoring that, Lucas took off his shoes before entering the room. The entrance way was followed by a long corridor, but all throughout, the room was dotted with mountains of magazines and manga.
"Where's the bedroom?"
"Right there~"
As she languidly pointed off toward her room, Lucas walked in that direction while still carrying her.
Much like the rest of the apartment, the girl's bedroom was covered with tons of manga. The entire wall had been transformed into bookshelves, but even still, there were books piled up across the floor.
Nia's bed was even worse. It was the centerpiece of the large room, but it seemed to only have enough space for one person. Some of the books and manga had even encroached their way onto the bed. Clearly she harbored a great love towards reading and books, since her bed looked like a casket prepared specifically to use books instead of flowers.
"Uh, wait just a second."
As Lucas stood in front of the book lover's casket, Nia moved from his back to her bed. Oozing down just like slime and fitting onto the bed much like a missing puzzle piece, she caressed the bed lovingly.
"Haa..."
Just as she let herself down to relax, Lucas exhaled. He lazily looked around the interior of the room and discovered something.
"This is..."
Even though it's rude to look around in a girl's room, he can't win against his curiosity. He walked around, towards the source of his curiosity. Right there, there was something unbelievable. A large workspace with various painting equipment lining it and a huge fluorescent lamp to illuminate the table's surface.
On top of that, there was thick B4-size paper at the center of the desk. It's a 4-koma script, with not only a drawn character already, but a full background as well. There's even some text written on it. It seems it's almost finished and ready for inking since the rough sketch hasn't been erased yet.
Right, this was the first time Lucas had ever seen such a professional setup in person, there's no doubt about it. What's over there must be the manga's manuscript even.
"Ah-" As if a switch had clicked in his brain, he remembered Nia's actions after she was rescued for the first time. "I completely forgot you're a Mangaka."
"Hm? That's right. I'm something of a pro... I got so focused on my work that I forgot to eat~ ...I thought I had no other choice than to go to a nearby convenient store or supermarket, but then I realized that the Earth's gravity is so strong."
As she said that, she raised her hand before dropping it back down onto the bed to mimic her words. Lucas was dumbfounded and smiled bitterly at her statement.
"So, that's what happened... But shouldn't you have an assistant...?"
"Well, generally that's how it is, but I like doing everything myself up until it's finished~ If you feel comfortable doing all this alone, it's usually fine. Though sometimes the workload is enough that I feel like I'm going to die."
"I think that's quite a fatal mistake..."
Lucas scratched his cheek before taking another look at the manuscript on the desk.
It's not like Lucas reads manga wildly like some maniac or something, but he does like manga as much as any normal high school student. He even occasionally buys manga that he enjoys, but this was the first time he had ever seen an actual manuscript, so it was a pretty exciting new experience for him.
Guessing from the art style, it's a Shōnen manga, and though it's still not finished, he can still tell that she truly is a pro-
"...Hmm?"
Lucas knitted his eyebrows and bent his body forward to take a closer look at the manuscript. Because the script hasn't been finished yet, he's still not so sure, but he knew he recognized that style somewhere.
"...Eh, this is...? Don't tell me... Silver Bullet?" Lucas muttered upon his realization. Right there, this was the manga he was talking to Nakatsugawa about earlier. Silver Bullet.
"Oh? You could tell that fast? Perhaps you're one of my readers? Thank you~" The girl waved her hand again.
"No, wait---" He assembled the piece of the puzzle in his head. The author of Silver Bullet is Honjou Souji. Nia's last name is also Honjou, though Lucas was not sure if it used the same Kanji and meaning. Though, he remembered some Mangaka's having a sort of 'pen name', a name they go by on their works. Also, the dates of the hiatus' almost match up exactly with Nia's kidnapping and the day after Kurumi went out to rescue her, Silver Bullet began releasing again.
"Nia....you are Souji?"
"Mm-hmm~ that's right~" It all made sense now. Then, A loud voice came directly from Nia's stomach.
"B-Boy..." Nia called out for Lucas in a weak voice. He sighed in response and scratched his head.
"Okay, okay... Let me borrow your kitchen for a while."
"Okay~ but nothing like porridge again~"
"If I remembered correctly, you devoured the whole bowl in a matter of a few minutes."
"Ugu! Y-you're mistaken! I was just hungry!" She cried.
"Whatever, I'll see what I can make."
He left the room and walked over to the kitchen.
Based on the state of Nia's apartment, he expected the sink to be filled with dirty dishes. However, apart from some dusty tableware, the kitchen was unexpectedly organized.
"Hmm. How surprising... For an idiot like Nia, this is surprisingly well-organized."
Only a moment later, something changed his mind. Just looking at the surface of the kitchen's table instantly confirmed it. In that corner of the room, he could see leftover trash from some instant food.
In other words, instead of Nia never tidying up this place, it was actually that she never used the kitchen in the first place. She must always be eating out or buying boxed lunches from convenient stores. In fact, she must just eat instant food and junk for every meal.
"..."
Lucaa kept his silence and put a hand on his forehead. He soaked the table and began wiping it down with a cloth he found nearby.
"Well... Now then."
After he had finished cleaning the dust from the kitchen, he looked around and walked over to open the refrigerator.
"...O-Only sake...?"
Lucas voiced his disbelief at what he saw; he pulled open the vegetable drawer just to be sure. Inside there were only more bottles of sake. (There were also a few books covering them)
"..."
Lucas silently closed the refrigerator. He went back to the entryway and got the shopping bag he brought earlier. If anything, there's more suitable ingredients to make something here than back in the kitchen. Originally these were meant for the Spirits' dinner tonight, but since he bought more than usual, it should be alright. More importantly, he can't let Nia starve to death.
Lucas washed his hands and started cooking.
Though, there's not exactly much kitchenware to use here, so it's impossible to make a truly delicious meal. Also, there's not even that much time left for cooking because he can't just leave Nia waiting for too long in her current condition.
When Lucas decided what to make, he poured some water into the only small saucepan available in the kitchen. Then, he also put some uncooked rice into the water, and he lit the stove and started cooking.
After that, he added some scallions and some bean paste. He also added some Japanese sake that he borrowed from the refrigerator to add some flavor. For the last step, he dropped some eggs into the saucepan and finished a simple soup.
This was as much as he could make considering the ingredients on hand and lack of time, plus it was finished quickly. He brought the food to the currently starving Nia. Despite this being a fairly ordinary dish for him to make, it should still be good enough for that girl.
"Okay, I hope this is enough."
And so he returned to Nia's room to deliver the bowl filled with impromptu zōsui.
"Here, this is for you. It's still hot, so be careful."
"Waa! I'll have some~!"
Lucas put the soup on the table near the bed. Nia clapped her hands together in thanks, and with a bit of vigor, she took a sip.
"Ahhhh!"
Of course, like Lucas said, the food was still hot. Nia's body recoiled back a little in pain.
"I already told you..."
"Fuu~ Fuu~"
Learning from her mistake, Nia blew on the spoon before transferring the food into her mouth.
When she finally tasted the Zōsui, she slowly savored and chewed it in her mouth. Then she let out a contented sigh.
"Aaaa~"
She made a noise identical to an old man relaxing in a hot spring. Tears started flowing down her face as she was overwhelmed by the sensation of the food. Her spoon did not cease.
"So delicious... What did you just make for me... What..."
Even as she said these words, she continued gobbling down the remaining soup. After only five minutes had passed, the bowl was already empty.
"Fuh~ Thanks for the meal. That was delicious~ It's been a week since the last time I ate such a good, warm meal."
"A week..." Lucas made a slight grin and then cleaned up the tableware. He turned back as he was about to open the door and return to the kitchen.
"Well, I'll wash the dishes now. If you need anything, let me know."
"Eh~ anything you say~?" Nia said with a grin on her face. "I told you, I haven't hired any assistants, so how about being my first? I'll make sure to pay you of course~"
"...Eh?"
On being asked such an unexpected request, Lucas could only respond with confusion.
"What are you talking about? I'm not a pro at drawing."
"Eh~ it'll be fine~ Do you have something else to do?"
"No, that's not what I'm trying to say... I've never touched a pro's manuscript before, I can't take responsibility if I make a mistake."
"It's alright~ it's alright~ I'm only asking you to do the erasing. You only have to put in a little strength to do that."
"Even if you say that..."
"Please, please, please! My hands are already full with other important jobs I need to do~ If this keeps up, I won't be able to finish my manuscript on time..." Nia continued pleading to him, only leaving Lucas with the option to sigh.
"...Haa. Okay. But only erasing, alright?"
After Lucas gave into her demands, Nia wore a brilliant smile.
"Got it~ got it~ Well then, let's go to the workroom. This place is too small for the two of us to use~"
While saying that, Nia got up from her bed and, "Nnggggh..." let out a small stretching noise.
She scratched her body. Though she had been acting lazily until now, it appeared the girl gained back her energy extremely fast.
"The workroom... do you have another place other than this one?"
"Yes. I have this room prepared like this so whenever I feel like I'm going to die working, I can collapse on my bed immediately. I also have another workroom to use~"
"Even if you say it as if it was normal to work like that, it's still strange." Lucas narrowed his eyes toward Nia, though she seemingly didn't particularly pay attention to it. He followed Nia to her other workroom.
"Come in, come in~"
"Ah..."
She welcomed him to enter the workroom. Just upon entering the door, his vision was filled with all sorts of things of interest.
Inside the room, there was a huge work desk placed; on top of it, there's various stationery prepared. The wall was still much the same as the one in her bedroom, the whole surface was turned into a bookshelf. Other than that, there's plenty of drawing materials, books of paintings, as well as books of various photographs and so on, all lined up.
The room somehow had a more somber atmosphere. It really did seem just like what he imagined an artist's workplace to be like.
"There, you can use that desk."
"Is that alright? The atmosphere in here makes it feel like this is an artist's sacred place..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Ah, or perhaps did you like the desk in my bedroom better? Would you rather be surrounded by my scent while working?"
"No, this place is fine too." Lucas refused instantaneously. For some reason the girl seemed a bit dissatisfied and pursed her lips and made a "buu~" sound.
"Well, which part do you want me to erase?"
"Aah, then please erase this."
Nia put on her glasses and began marking the upper part of the paper. She laid out several sheets of the manuscript that had already been inked.
"After you finish erasing the draft, please fill the rest of the blank space with black ink."
"...Hm?"
Nia said those words naturally, Lucas barely had any time to notice.
"Wait a minute! Didn't you want me to do only gomu-kake!? Even if it's beta-nuri, you shouldn't just let anyone do it!"
"Fine~ fine~ You seem pretty skilled, you should be able to do it just fine. Anyhow, as long as you use black ink, you can use any of my tools. The trick is to paint small corners with a fine tip pen first, and then do the larger part with something quick."
"No, screw you! I'm leaving!" Lucas shouted, and headed to the door of the apartment. But--- right when he was about to leave, his body turned around without his brain commissioning a command.
"Huh?" He let out a dumbfounded voice. His body walked back to the workroom, and sat down on infront of the desk he just sat at.
He then grabbed the eraser in one hand and carefully began to erase the pencil traces. After that, he took the fudepen in his hand and began working on the beta-nuri like Nia asked him to.
"This is---"
"This is Raziel, remember? Anything written in this book becomes a reality and right now, you are my Mangaka Assistant working on my manuscript. Neat, isn't it?" Nia said, appearing from under the desk with a her book-shaped Angel.
"...." Lucas gave her a deadly look into the eyes. But....he then sighed. "Alright. I'll play along. Don't go crazy when I mess anything up, okay?"
"Don't worry~ I'll have Raziel guide you throughout the process."
After some time passed, Lucas brought the finished beta inked manuscript over to Nia's workspace.
"Oh, you're done already? Aren't you quite the pro?~"
"...Ah, well. Raziel's guidance was a big help." Lucas slowly exhaled out, moving his body slowly and turning his shoulders.
"Heh~ Raziel's effect wore out the moment you agreed to help me."
"What?!" He raised his worse and turned his gaze towards Nia, and his face turned pale, his body reacting violently.
"...!?"
There's no mistake. Right there, Nia had already changed the clothes she was wearing until now. Now she was wearing particularly skimpy maid clothes. The skirt was really short, and even parts of her breasts were exposed. Looking at the sensational appearance, Lucas gulped down his saliva. Lucas could do nothing but gulp at her scantily clad figure.
"What are you wearing...!?"
"Eh? Aah, I bought this for reference material, but I decided that I'll give you some special service for your assistance. Look, isn't this extra pay quite seductive? How's this? Even though my breasts are flat, the style is still good, right?"
"I didn't think that was what you meant by extra pay!"
Nia raised her voice as she placed her hands on her hips to emphasize what she said. But then, Nia fluttered around an envelope she held in her hand.
"I'm joking. This is just some fan service for you~ Here's your salary."
Then, just as Nia went to hand over the envelope to Lucas, something popped up in her mind.
A mischievous smile formed on her face. Instead she tugged on the chest part of her clothes and put the envelope between her breasts.
"Well here you go, boy. Your sa-la-ry~"
"W-What are you doing!?"
"It's fine~ it's fine~ Look, look, just take it." Nia pulled her shoulders in to emphasize her breasts. Then in one quick motion, the envelope slipped and fell straight down through her skirt.
"..."
"Ah..."
"Kuh... is having small breasts really a crime...!?"
"Well...I wouldn't say it's bad having smaller breasts..." Lucas said with a drop of sweat on his cheek.
"Anyway! I'll have something else as my thanks. You, that is." Lucas said, pointing his finger at Nia who was on the ground. When he did, Nia's eyes widened.
"Eh? By that you mean....you're gonna have my body as payment?!" She cried, covering her breasts and turning away from Lucas.
"I definitely didn't mean that, you idiot!" Lucas shouted, almost enough to shatter the windows. "All I want to do is hang out some time. Can you do that?"
"Eeeeh, are you perhaps asking me out on a daaaatee~" Nia asked with a smug face. "Ah~ I get it, I get it. Since I'm a Spirit, your mission is to make me fall for you and seal me."
"So you already know?"
"Aah~ I'm fine with a date, but the place has to be Akiba, okay? Since I've been locked up for four years, my body has been longing for 2D. My withdrawal symptoms are really bad. I'm even twitching from wanting to read chapters of the manga I missed, plus all the new works from my favorite authors." Nia hugged her own shoulders as she said that, even going as far to purposely shiver with pleasure at the thought.
"After that though, I'll have to start working on my next series. Since Comico is coming up soon and I have to get ready for that. This is all the time I can spare for you. After all, I'm pretty popular, you know?"
"Yeah yeah...I'll finish this as quickly as possible."
"Of course, I won't peek into your strategy meetings, so don't worry. I hate spoiling things for people, and I dislike getting spoilers from someone else even more. So please, go discuss your strategy with... Err."
The pages of Raziel flipped as they followed Nia's eyes.
"Aah, yes, yes. Kotori. Being a commander at age fourteen is pretty impressive. Please feel free to come up with a proper plan with her. Come at me with your best~" Then, Nia gave a childish laugh while waving her hand.
"-Well, let's end our conversation here for today. I still need to finish my manuscript, and don't you also have to cook dinner for everyone, boy?"
"Ah-yeah."
"Let's continue our talk on the promised day. I'll tell you the place and time later. Is it alright if I get your address myself? Ah wait, I can't look into you using Raziel!" Nia said, hitting her own head and sticking out a tongue.
"Aah...I'll write down my address." Lucas said and quickly took a piece of paper and a pen to write it down.
"Thank you~ Well, see you later~ I'm really looking forward to it~"
Before Lucas could say anything more, Nia ended the conversation and pushed Lucas out from her apartment.
◇
"The Spirit that was captured by DEM?"
After returning home, Lucas made contact with Ratatoskr's underground facility. He told them of the unbelievable events that he had just experienced. It was such a shock, they caused Kotori to immediately go to Lucas' residence.
When she heard the situation from Lucas in person, Kotori held her Chupa-Chups stick while contemplating the situation.
"Aah. We had rescued her five years ago but...Well, I think you can guess what happened right after."
"Hm...For her to have also worked as a Mangaka for a few years.... It's a little surprising. It's not much different than Miku's case." Kotori rested her chin on her hand. Izayoi Miku certainly is a Spirit just like Tohka and the others, but before Shidou sealed away her Reiryoku, they knew her about her as a super popular idol.
Certainly, when compared to that, the current situation has some similarities.
"---Lucas. I seek an offering. Quickly, show your dedication to me by offering a feast."
"Translation. Kaguya says she's hungry. I want to eat delicious food nyaa~ That's what she said."
"Can you not add strange noises!?" The two girls were sitting on the sofa to the side, playfully exchanging such words.
It was like looking in the reflection of the mirror, both their faces were indistinguishable from each other. One girl was dressed in a black shirt with a single red English letter on it, while the other had on a pastel colored cardigan. They were twin Spirits who also lived in his house: Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru.
"Ufufu. I'll prepare dinner now. Kotori, you can stay and eat if you want to." Kurumi said, standing up from her seat next to Lucas and walked over to the kitchen.
"Mhm, Thanks." Kotori nodded. "Back to topic..." She coughed a few times and started. "The omniscient Angel, Rasiel...Hmm. Not only is she capable of gathering any information she wants to know about us, but she's also capable of directing the future to follow her will. What a terrible Angel."
Lucas nodded despondently at what she said. He knew just how terrifying such powers can be.
"If an Angel like that really exists, then every kind of security is useless. Moreover, doesn't that mean she could leak a country's military affairs and most important secrets? Depending on how you use it, you could easily trigger a war. To think that this kind of thing was in DEM's hand too---I think that's terrifying."
"Aah, I agree." Based on his impressions of her, there's no way Nia would use her Angel for that kind of thing... But if that power were to fall in the hands of someone with ill attention, the world would surely be devastated, ten times more than a Spacequake.
Kotori took her Chupa-Chups in her hand, and swung it around like a conductor's baton and continued.
"And it's not only that."
"Hm? What else?"
"If that kind of Angel really exists, then perhaps we could use it to learn something about that mysterious Spirit, Mio." She said and pointed her Chupa-Chups stick at Lucas.
"Well..."
"Well...?" Lucas did consider what Kotori said. However---
"For some strange reason, she cannot find any information about me and my past. Although it could be different for Mio, I don't think she is able to look into her either."
"Hm....In any case, it could still bring up something about Shidou and Mana's memories."
"Mhm."
That's right. Shidou and Mana are blood related siblings... That's something they know, but they have no recollection of the time they spent together.
Kotori had a complex expression on her face as she rested her elbows onto the table.
"...Well, that's still a big if. Our goal isn't to seal Spirits in order to abuse their powers. The primary objective is to put Nia under our protection-Of course I'll support you as usual, but give it your all."
"Aah. I understand."
It's just as Kotori said. Regardless if it's about Mio or his personal motives, those should always come secondary. If he keeps thinking otherwise, Nia will surely be able to sense an ulterior motive.
Lucas shook his head to brush away those thoughts, and then clenched his fist.
◇