Chapter 69

Even though Origami doesn't usually care much about other people's opinions, Rita and Amber's approval still made her somewhat happy, though she didn't show it on her face.

However, although her expression didn't change, she knew she should respond when her boss praised her.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "As Valkyrie of Schicksal and a member of the Blade of Immortality, it is only natural for me to do these things."

Rita:...

Doesn't what you're saying make me, the only member of the Blade of Immortality who was defeated right from the start, seem a bit awkward?

If Rita hadn't known that this child devoted almost all her time to training and didn't understand social niceties, she would have almost suspected that she was being subtly mocked.

However, putting all that aside for now, since the mission was complete, there was no reason for them to stay. After everyone had their injuries treated, Rita said goodbye to Amber and led the others back to the Schicksal's hotel to rest.

Amber, on the other hand, was preparing to go back and check on Shiori's situation.

Although I felt that Shiori would be fine, I had promised to protect her, so it was better to stay with her until the Princess completely sealed her Spiritual Power.

So Amber contacted Kotori: "How are things going?"

"To be honest, it's a bit outrageous that you were able to take care of that Ellen so quickly."

Kotori didn't answer immediately, but said in a complicated tone.

Amemiya City had been under the surveillance of Fraxinus, so it was naturally able to see the situation of the battle that had just taken place. In fact, not only Ratatoskr, but many capable forces or countries were also paying attention to the movements of Amber and Ellen.

The world's strongest vs. the world's strongest naturally attracts the attention of countless people. Even though everyone thinks Yulande has a much better chance of winning, before Yulande appeared, Ellen was the undisputed Strongest Magician.

Although they haven't made a move in a long time, their influence remains. When Yulande first emerged, many people speculated about the relative strengths of the two, which even aroused dissatisfaction among many Ellen Fans, who refuted and suppressed Yulande's supporters.

Even though Yulande had taken down three elves, Ellen Fans were starting to sound like old-timers in the power rankings, they still had reasons to say things like, "Ellen just didn't run into Yulande," "DEM's power is not as great as Schicksal's," "Ellen couldn't find any elves to fight even if she wanted to," and "Ellen has easily killed many elves before."

Everyone knows that the strength of the elves from earlier times is not on the same level as that of the elves now, but Ellen easily defeated them back then, which makes this record seem shrouded in mystery, since it doesn't show Ellen's potential.

However, today's battle has definitively proven one thing.

Even the 'strongest' still have differences. If the elf is 60 and Ellen is 80, then Yulande is 100. Ellen can easily defeat the elf, Yulande can easily defeat Ellen.

Let's not even mention the increasingly rampant Yulande Fans and Ai after they learned about this, or the desperate and distraught Ellen Fans.

Upon hearing Kotori's words, Amber showed little emotional reaction. In her view, whatever the outcome of the battle was, it was all justified.

If you win, it's because your cheat is too strong; if you lose, it's because the opponent is truly talented, and it's normal that you can't beat them even if you're using cheats.

Therefore, she simply said, "Our situation is different. What about Shiori and the Princess?"

Like Rita, Kotori also took this as Yulande's humble remark. However, humble people are still very likable, after all, her tone was obviously genuinely humble, not the kind of rude humility that is just pretending to be humble and actually waiting for others to flatter her.

Knowing that the other person wasn't the type to enjoy flattery, Kotori didn't waste her breath and simply replied, "It's alright."

Her reply didn't reveal the specifics, but it wasn't that Kotori didn't want to explain properly; rather, she was unsure herself and could only recount the situation. "After you confronted that Magician, Shiori pulled the Princess away from the center of the ruins and then communicated with Princess."

"But... it seems that because of your relationship with that Magician, although the Princess was more compliant when she left, her vigilance was several levels higher."

"Shouldn't my actions have prevented her from misunderstanding?"

Amber asked, puzzled.

She believed that her actions and attitude at the time were very clear.

"From our perspective, that's true too, but elves are not human after all, so they probably have a rather unique thought process."

Kotori guessed.

"What's Kotori's opinion?"

"I've already said that elves' thought processes aren't necessarily the same as humans', so what opinion can I possibly have? I'm not... uh..."

Am I really an elfin? Did I just blurt out that I included myself in the conversation?

Realizing this, and seeing Yulande categorize herself as having a 'unique thought process' without hesitation, Kotori's blood pressure rose again. How could this blonde be so infuriating?

"I was transformed from a human into an elf!? Before becoming an elf, I grew up as a proper human! Even after becoming an elf, I was immediately sealed away!"

Although Kotori didn't have many Remembrance of that time, she knew very well that she transformed and was sealed on the spot.

Even if you don't have the Remembrance of that time, the Remembrance before and after are very clear. If you didn't become a spirit before or after, then you were only active during the period when your Remembrance was unclear.

"Besides, why did you immediately label me as having a 'special thought process'? Do I look like someone with abnormal thinking?!"

"... I always thought you had symptoms of dissociative identity disorder, but it seems I was mistaken. I'm sorry."

Amber outwardly showed a sincere apology, but inwardly she found Kotori's tantrum amusing; teasing the original characters was indeed interesting.

Kotori was unaware that the other party had done it on purpose. Hearing such a sincere apology, and thinking about the other party's straightforward personality, as well as the situation two days ago when she changed her headband and altered her personality in front of the other party, the red-haired girl could only suppress her anger no matter what.

"...fine!"

She said through gritted teeth.

"So, my next task is to clear up the misunderstanding?"

Seeing that Kotori was no longer pursuing the matter, Amber continued to ask.

"Hmm... it's not a good idea to let the atmosphere between the two of them stay like this. You should go with them."

Kotori thought for a moment and said, "After all, it's not just the Princess who's not in a good state; Shiori is also thinking about what just happened. Your presence will put her at ease."

"It would be best to clear up the misunderstanding between you and the Princess before the Princess loses this time, and to help Shiori and the Princess establish a certain level of trust."

"Then I'll set off immediately."

Amber felt a sense of anticipation as she watched the Date A Live up close.

Chapter Fifteen: The Arrogant One Has Retired from the Environment.

At this moment, on the edge of the ruins, a silent and stiff atmosphere filled the space between the two girls.

It wasn't because they had just argued, nor was it because they distrusted each other; it was simply that they were both thinking about something.

The Princess's thoughts were actually quite simple: why were those two humans so powerful? She had encountered many humans before and experienced many battles, or rather, she was either sleeping or fighting all the time, but her impression of humans had always been that of annoying flies, posing almost no threat to her.

But those two people were completely different. Just standing on the ground, looking up at the Sky Manipulation, the aftershocks of the atmosphere being torn apart still made her feel palpitations.

This made her wonder if she could participate in that level of combat if she used her full strength.

Shiori, on the other hand, was somewhat worried about her new friends.

In Shiori's first impression, Bianca Yulande Atagina was a straightforward and somewhat dull person. Even when someone made a joke, she would seriously consider it and give a reply. She also had a kind of chivalrous Instinct, like a knight in a storybook. She knew that her situation was very special and might be the key to changing the world, a fact she could recognize even in her daily life.

Ratatoskr's ongoing research on her had likely led to her being monitored and observed due to her uniqueness, yet Yulande still told her, "No one can hold you accountable."

In addition, Kotori Schicksal, Ratatoskr, Dem to her, as well as the destructive power of the elves as clearly expressed in numbers, and Yulande's record, which is hailed as the strongest.

All these factors combined to gradually flesh out Shiori's impression of Yulande, ultimately leading her to conclude that she was "a person with a knight-like personality, upright and taciturn, yet extremely powerful."

Even with this impression, Shiori still felt worried, because of the woman named Ellen.

Even though Shiori wasn't within her target range, she could still feel the overwhelming sense of danger. Without thinking, she obediently ran away, not only to give Yulande space to fight, but also because she was overwhelmed by a fear she had never felt before.

After running away with the Princess, Shiori asked Kotori about Ellen, and was told that she was "Magician whose reputation is no less than Yulande's, but because she hasn't shown up for a long time, their strength is still unclear."

Now she couldn't help but worry. The two sides were at similar levels, Ellen gave her such a dangerous feeling, so Shiori would naturally be afraid of Yulande's situation.

However, this worry didn't last long, as Kotori quickly confirmed that Yulande had already won.

Shiori:...?

Wasn't it agreed that these two were evenly matched?

Kotori could only observe the two through satellite. Although she could determine who shot down whom, she couldn't see the specifics clearly. She could only say, "That's the prediction. However, it's normal for a battle between two experts to end quickly. As long as one side makes a mistake, they will lose everything."

She reminded Shiori to focus her attention on the spirits, and Shiori did not refuse, but she couldn't concentrate because she was thinking about other things.

Furthermore, the Princess was also reflecting on the battle that had just taken place, which naturally created an awkward and tense atmosphere.

Fortunately, the atmosphere was quickly broken by a clear, audible whooshing sound. This sound accompanied Ellen's appearance, which caused Shiori to feel a little panicked. She finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the figure land.

"Yulande ..."

Shiori looked at her with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Amber smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. Even if I get injured, I have ways to heal myself. Even if I lose a hand or a foot, I can recover in the blink of an eye."

The first pool she entered in this world was Moon Spirit, and the weapon Moon Spirit drew was not the Hler's Ataraxia, but the Black Abyss White Flower.

But in reality, she doesn't use this thing much. This isn't to maintain her persona, but because living in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen for so many years has taught her a lesson: while everyone's indifference to getting hurt has a good side, it also has a bad side.

Yuji and Maki are examples; they don't even know how to dodge attacks anymore, and they just charge forward during battles.

This can also lead to a decline in the ability to judge danger.

Therefore, unless there is a truly difficult-to-treat or very serious injury, Amber almost never uses the power of Creation. This is also why she did not help the Blade of Immortality heal, but waited for them to go back and deal with their injuries themselves.

Hearing this, Shiori nodded thoughtfully, but since she had little concept of the battlefield, she still said, "Even so, I'm still worried, because even if it's healed, it will still hurt a lot."

"On the battlefield, no one can guarantee that they will be unharmed. Not to mention being injured, they may not even be able to hold their own lives in their own hands."

Although Amber didn't really want to shatter Shiori's naive ideas, she thought about the possible experiences Shiori might have in the future, and how she would eventually understand these things as she moved away from ordinary life.

Besides, despite what Shiori says, she's become the most reckless person ever after learning she has regenerative abilities. This perfectly fits Amber's stereotype of someone who suddenly gains powerful regenerative abilities. Isn't Fu Hua's regenerative ability strong? But I've never seen her fight with someone and exchange injuries, unless such behavior is absolutely necessary.

True powerhouses do not rely on their own recovery abilities; they treat them merely as one of the cards in their hand.

(Yuji x Maki:...)

"I see..."

Shiori didn't really understand combat and couldn't say anything more.

"How are you doing compared to me?"

Amber changed the subject. "Is it not going well?"

"Uh... it's actually not bad?"

Shiori scratched her head and looked at the Princess beside her. Although the atmosphere had been a bit quiet just now, the Princess seemed to have no aversion to her as she followed her footsteps.

"Tohka?"

Amber looked at the Princess.

"Tohka?"

Upon hearing this address, the Princess, whose expression was calm and whose thoughts were unreadable, paused for a moment, not understanding the meaning of the two words. However, judging from the other person's gaze, it was indeed being addressed to her.

Amber then remembered that the Princess didn't have a name yet at this time.

"Huh? So elves have names?"

Shiori, unaware of these details, assumed it was the Princess's name, but seeing the Princess's somewhat confused expression, she became even more confused.

Did Yulande get her name wrong?

"... It's the name I just thought of."

Amber could only say, "After all, you can't keep calling her by the code name 'elf' or 'Princess' forever."

Upon hearing this, Kotori's expression in the Sky Manipulation became somewhat subtle.

Isn't your Yulande a code name too? Although I don't know why you would put a code name in your name, according to the girl herself, it is indeed a code name.

"Yes... that's definitely true."

Shiori nodded in agreement.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Seeing the two of them talking in unison, the Princess was still completely confused. "What do you mean I can't be called an elf or Princess? Haven't you always called me that?"

"That's true, but that kind of thing doesn't really count as a name."

Shiori said, "My name is Shiori Itsuka, but if someone calls me a girl, a human, or a student, it's not a problem, but it doesn't help to close the distance between us."

"Distance?"

The Princess frowned, somewhat unable to understand.

"Then, try calling me Shiori instead of 'human'."

Shiori didn't really know how to describe it, so she simply asked the other person to try it.

"Shiori..."

Although she still didn't understand the situation, the Princess still tried calling out to her. An indescribable feeling arose in her mind. It was just a change of address, but she felt as if some invisible connection had been established between the two of them.