Chapter 91

Although it was a question, the obvious concern on Shiori's face showed that she was certain Kotori's condition was very bad.

Shiori Itsuka hasn't been in a good mood lately, mainly because her younger sister often looks tired.

"Kotori, you won't be able to muster any energy if you don't eat properly!"

Tohka didn't quite understand the intricacies of the situation, but she noticed Kotori's condition and Shiori's worry, so she expressed her concern in her own way, saying, "I... I'll share some of my hash browns with you!"

"There's no need for that. My appetite is still quite normal."

Kotori didn't immediately respond to Shiori's concerns. Instead, she went straight to her seat and sat down before saying, "There have been some things going on lately, but the thing I was most worried about has been resolved. The rest isn't too much of a concern for me, so I guess I'm finally free from this busyness."

"Oh..."

Shiori didn't know much about Kotori's work, only that she had attended some kind of meeting yesterday and looked very tired when she returned to Fraxinus, but seemed much more relaxed after getting home.

"Don't look so worried. I am an elf after all... even though I don't have much Spiritual Power right now."

It wasn't an attempt to appear relaxed; Kotori had been under immense pressure ever since the Tohka incident. The most crucial issue was Arutemi's words: the public disclosure of Schicksal and Ratatoskr's collaboration would inevitably impact Shiori's life. During this time, she had been racking her brains trying to figure out how to ensure that Shiori's daily routine wouldn't be disrupted.

With the biggest problem solved, Kotori was relieved of her heaviest burden. Although the internal political struggles that followed were not easy, they were not enough to keep Kotori up at night.

Today's fatigue wasn't due to lack of rest, but rather because the accumulated fatigue from relaxing came all at once, which is why she didn't look well.

Shiori had far less time to spend with Kotori in Commander Mode than in Sister Mode, but since they were still the same person, Shiori could tell that Kotori wasn't just putting on a brave face. So, her expression relaxed considerably. "Then I'm relieved."

"Let's call Yulande over soon, or we could just go over there. After all, she's the one who helped me solve my biggest headache."

"Eh? Yulande?"

Shiori didn't expect to hear this name at this time. After all, Kotori's job is Ratatoskr and Yulande's is Schicksal, so they don't seem to have much in common.

But putting that aside, Shiori felt that what helped Yulande was that she was surprisingly normal.

Thinking of this, Shiori felt a little embarrassed. "I feel like I've been getting a lot of help from Yulande lately, so I should really do something for her in return... If I were to visit her, I wouldn't know what kind of gift would be appropriate for Valkyrie... By the way, Kotori, what's the thing that bothers you the most?"

"Just ask Rita what Yulande likes, right? I'll leave this to you."

Kotori replied first, then explained, "I asked Yulande to help me get a Valkyrie as your bodyguard. She's the kind who will protect you during your school years to prevent any self-righteous or dishonest people from getting close to you."

"Ah..."

Shiori then remembered what Kotori had said yesterday about someone with ulterior motives targeting her. She hadn't realized that Kotori had been worrying about this for a long time.

Shiori had always been a high school girl, found it hard to be aware of or understand that she had suddenly become the 'center of attention'. She felt as if she had become a big shot with bodyguards in a TV drama.

"Anyway, you and Tohka can go to school as usual today. Although I don't know how that Valkyrie will protect you, Yulande's judgment and choice of people should be reliable."

Kotori brought this topic to a close.

"I see."

Shiori nodded.

Although the most troublesome issue was resolved, it didn't mean there weren't other things to deal with. After quickly finishing breakfast, Kotori returned to Fraxinus, leaving Shiori and Tohka to go to school as usual.

Along the way, Shiori paid special attention to her surroundings for anything unusual or anyone following her, but she couldn't find anything except that her eyes were tired from looking around.

As expected, it's impossible for an ordinary person like me to find a 'special agent' to track and protect me... Since Kotori said to just live like before, then I won't worry about it.

Thinking this way, Shiori regained her usual mindset. Influenced by Tohka's always energetic attitude, she arrived at school chatting and laughing, and returned to her seat in the classroom amidst the somewhat familiar chatter.

Shiori is somewhat famous at this school. Although she doesn't have the superhumanly exquisite features of other elves, that doesn't mean she's not pretty. With Shiori's looks, she's at least a 'once-in-a-century beauty'. Plus, her easygoing and friendly personality makes her very popular with both boys and girls.

Shiori, who was in this situation, suddenly became inseparable friends with a more beautiful girl a few days ago, and they often had unusually intimate behavior, which naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Tohka even publicly stated that she wanted to be with Shiori forever, which was practically a blatant declaration of yuri (lesbian) love.

As a result, their fame at the school increased even further.

"We have new classmates today!"

Just as Shiori and Tohka continued their lives as usual, the teacher's voice caught Shiori's attention.

Accompanied by the voice of the homeroom teacher, Tamaki Chie, a pretty girl with short, black hair on the outside and blue on the inside, who looked somewhat shy, walked into the classroom.

"This is a transfer student from Estonia who will be attending school with everyone this semester."

As she spoke, Zhu Hui wrote the girl's name on the blackboard.

"Shier Fulei ..."

Chapter Fifty-Six: I need to find a chance to scare her.

Shiori Itsuka is not a particularly cunning or suspicious person, but even Shiori felt that the timing of this girl named Shier's transfer to the school was too coincidental. In addition, since the other party was a girl, it was natural for Shiori to think of Valkyrie.

However, now was not the right time or place to discuss this, so Shiori simply looked at Shier with the same curious gaze as everyone else.

'A gathering of people who have never undergone any baptism of fire, each with a clear, foolish look in their eyes.'

Black Amber gave her assessment of the place. Although she had long thought that this was definitely not a place where she could be comfortable, the group of students still made her scalp tingle.

The morning self-study session had just ended when a group of boys and girls gathered around, chattering about questions they weren't interested in and too lazy to answer. Fortunately, Black Amber never did anything unprepared and had already compiled all the possible questions and answers.

"Should I call you Shier or Vollerei? Vollerei is the surname, right?"

"I heard that people in foreign countries call each other by their first name, so should I just call her Shier?"

"Why did Shier suddenly come to Japan to study?"

"Shier, your skin looks so good! Is it made with foreign cosmetics?"

Faced with the questions, Black Amber patiently maintained her girlish shyness, but responded to everyone's enthusiasm one by one, "People around me usually just call me Shier, so you can just call me by my name Shier."

"Because Japan is where my family travels for work, they will probably stay in Japan for a long time."

"It's not a foreign cosmetic... Shier isn't old enough to use cosmetics yet."

A person's appearance directly influences others' first impression of them, and Shier's exquisite face, which is in no way inferior to Tohka's, coupled with her shy yet courageous attitude in responding to everyone, gave everyone a friendly and approachable feeling.

Although I knew this new classmate wasn't very good at handling the situation, I was even more enthusiastic in asking questions because I thought her flustered state was cute and I wanted to quickly build a good relationship with her.

"Shier's Japanese is so fluent! And her accent isn't awkward at all!"

"Does Shier refer to herself as 'Shier'? How cute! Just like a little kid! But she certainly doesn't look like a high school student!"

"What do Shier's family members do? They've been away on business for so long, are they diplomats or something?"

Black Amber's temples twitched slightly at these questions, reminding her of when she faced those Cursed Child in her previous world. Those children could chatter away all day long. Fortunately, she was the 'mother' back then, so she didn't need to say anything; a smile was enough.

Shiori felt that letting the students continue to argue would lead to bad things, so she quickly walked over and said with a smile, "Everyone, Shier seems a bit troubled. If you want to understand Shier, why don't we take our time and talk about it slowly?"

As one of the 'prominent figures', Shiori's words still carry a lot of weight among her classmates. After all, she has excellent character and academic performance, which is enough for her to be able to do whatever she wants in school.

They exchanged glances, feeling a little regretful, but they also knew they couldn't make things too difficult for the new student, or it would become bullying.

The flock of birds finally dispersed, Black Amber reluctantly gave Shiori a little extra credit in her heart, but on the surface, she gave a well-behaved and grateful smile, "Thank you, um..."

"I am Shiori Itsuka, and this is Tohka Yatogami."

Shiori gave a brief introduction.

"Hello, Shier, you are Schicksal... mmm!"

Tohka and Shiori had the same idea. She just didn't like to use her brain, but she wasn't brainless. After a little thought, she realized how coincidental the sudden appearance of the transfer student was.

But before she could finish speaking, Shiori covered her mouth.

This isn't something you can just casually say...

She glanced around and saw that everyone was only puzzled by the two's actions and didn't seem curious about what 'Schicksal' was, so she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Seeing that Shier in front of her didn't seem surprised, she said, "Um... shall we talk outside?"

"Good."

Black Amber nodded.

The sight of the three of them walking together attracted the students' attention, and they only started discussing it after they could no longer see each other.

"As expected of that transfer student killer, Itsuka-kun is really good at dealing with transfer students. It's only the first day, and he can't wait to claim the transfer student as his own."

"The previous Yato also developed a great liking for Itsuka from the very beginning, and then they were inseparable. Could itsuka actually be some kind of lesbian queen?"

"I can't stand it."

The three of them didn't hear the discussion in the classroom. If Shiori knew that this was how others perceived her, she would probably be devastated.

"Shier, um... you really are Schicksal ..."

Having arrived at a secluded spot, Shiori asked curiously.

"Yes, Shier was entrusted by Yulande to protect Yulande's friends."

Black Amber didn't want to accept the thanks, since she didn't care at all. Instead, she would give the thanks to Amber: "Yulande can't act easily, so this matter can only be handled by someone else."

"Ah, I know. After Yulande's every move attracts attention."

Shiori certainly didn't want Yulande herself to be her 'nanny', not only because Yulande's identity was impossible to hide, but more importantly, in Shiori's eyes, Yulande was definitely a super busy person like Kotori, and it was impossible for her to have so much time to accompany her to school.

"We've only known each other for a short time and I'm already troubling her so much, I feel a little embarrassed... Of course, I'm also very grateful that Shier was willing to come. Mingming, you should have other important things to do right now, right?"

Indeed, even casually researching something to relax is more like a serious job than being a bodyguard.

However, this was something that idiot's other self had asked him to do, and it was the first time in so long that he had made such a request. Of course, he was happy to do this little thing.

"Shier doesn't have any 'serious business'... But what she does have serious business is that protecting Shiori is also for the cooperation between Schicksal and Ratatoskr, so what she's doing now is also serious business."

"Hey, are you Yulande's friend? You don't look very strong."

After looking around at Black Amber, Tohka said that whether it was Ellen, Yulande, or even Arutemi and Mana, Tohka could feel a kind of strong 'aura' or confidence from them, but the human girl in front of her gave her a completely different feeling from these strong people.

There was no malice in her tone; it was purely out of curiosity. However, for a normal person, her words could easily be misunderstood.

Shiori quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Tohka didn't mean any harm!"

"It's alright, but please rest assured, Shier is also a qualified Valkyrie and can protect everyone."

Black Amber had a sweet smile, but in her heart she was thinking about finding an opportunity to scare Tohka.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Shiori Tears.

Wescott was in a very bad mood.

As someone who also understands and studies elves, he was prepared for Möbius to progress faster than him, but he didn't expect the speed to be so fast that it seemed to exceed his expectations.

"Isaac?"

Upon entering the room and seeing the other person's gloomy expression, Ellen asked worriedly, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"The nun's research is progressing far too slowly. At this rate, we've even lost the ability to compete with Möbius."

Sitting in his chair, Wescott kept thinking about all the ways he could salvage the situation, but he was shocked to find that he seemed to have run out of ideas.

Wescott only half believed what Möbius said about 'there are ways to kill elves' and 'each time an elf is killed, the next generation becomes stronger.' He knew that Möbius wouldn't talk nonsense, but he didn't believe at all the 'there are ways to kill elves' thing.

Or rather, the direction of the letter is different from that of others.

Others might think that Möbius wanted to live peacefully with the elves, but Wescott only felt that Möbius had mastered a more sophisticated way of using the elves than he had, which was why he intended to stop others from hunting and capturing them.

She must want to put all the elves in Schicksal's hands, and as a worthy opponent, Möbius wants to achieve what Wescott has no reason to let her achieve.

But... just as he was currently fretting about, Wescott's research on elves had stalled, and capturing other elves under Schicksal's nose was an impossible task.

We must find a way to break this deadlock, such as finding an elf before Schicksal arrives and capturing it, or making a breakthrough in the research progress on the nun in a short period of time.

But these things can't be done just by wishing; luck plays a major role.

"Let's put that aside for now. What's the situation with your investigation?"

Since there's no way to solve it right now, there's no need to waste brain cells on this. After rubbing his temples, Wescott asked.

"Yes, according to the intelligence report, the key figure in Ratatoskr's cooperation with Schicksal is Kotori Itsuka."

Ellen handed the documents in her hand to Wescott: "Kotori Itsuka was also present at yesterday's meeting. She's the red-haired girl who looks quite young. She's currently in her third year of junior high school."

Wescott also remembered this, after all, she was a stranger who attended in place of Ellen's sister and followed Eliot. But at the time, Wescott only regarded her as Magician like himself and others, which is why she maintained her youthful appearance.

But judging from what Ellen said, it seems that this is not the case.

After reviewing the documents in his hand, Wescott showed a keen interest and summarized. "A survivor of the fire in Amemiya City five years ago, he joined Ratatoskr shortly afterward and rose rapidly in rank within five years."

This situation was clearly abnormal. As an old acquaintance, Wescott did not think that Eliot would let a girl so quickly take up such a powerful position, even if the girl was a pitiful one.

"She also has an older sister, Shiori Itsuka..."

Upon seeing the next page, Wescott's eyebrows furrowed again.