A Short Word Count

"So this is..." Tohka's eyes sparkled, then her expression turned wistful as she softly said, "It's so beautiful."

Her gaze swept across the bustling streets brimming with life, the dazzling array of goods in the shop windows, and the children playing in the distant park.

"There are so many wonderful things here, such delicious food, gentle humans like you, Shiori... This world is so beautiful. They... want to protect this place, don't they?"

"I think I understand a little why the robot army attacked me."

"..."

Shiori understood at once. The "robot army" referred to AST—the forces equipped with cutting-edge Realizer devices, responsible for "dealing with" Spacequakes and Spirits. Yet Tohka had interpreted AST's attacks as protecting the world.

"That's not true!" Shiori argued. "Didn't you avoid causing anything today? And Huanyue too—I always meet her on ordinary streets. There must be another way."

This understanding of placing herself in the role of a "destroyer" and silently accepting that "crime" really was foolish, Qian Huanyue thought.

"Of course there's a way not to cause a Spacequake." As a Spirit herself, Qian Huanyue had every right to speak on the matter.

Tohka abruptly raised her head, her violet eyes full of hope. "Really?! I really can... avoid destroying this world?"

"The power we possess is not a sin in itself. What matters is how we use it. As long as you learn to precisely control your Spiritual Power and make it a natural part of your body, like breathing..."

Qian Huanyue used her silver Spiritual Power to create a faint spatial fluctuation, then had another stream of Spiritual Power collide with it until they canceled each other out.

"Then, when you descend upon this world, you can fall like a feather, leaving behind no trace of destruction."

For some reason, Qian Huanyue, who was unusually sensitive to 32, paused again before explaining in greater detail.

"For example, when a Spacequake occurs, use power of the same scale to cancel it out."

"Can I really... do it? Can I really... stay here without destroying anything?"

"Of course you can!" ×2

Shiori and Qian Huanyue answered in unison.

The instant their words fell, both of them froze for a moment before instinctively looking at each other.

"Hehe~" Qian Huanyue was the first to curve her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of smugness. "Looks like we were thinking the same thing, Shiori-chan."

"Ah! Yes," Shiori said, startled. She scratched her cheek, her face faintly reddening.

Before humans learned to express their feelings with words, they must have first learned to express them with their bodies.

That was what Qian Huanyue thought as Tohka suddenly hugged her.

Her body was tightly held by Tohka's unreasonably strong arms, but sensing the other girl's unease, Qian Huanyue still gently stroked her head.

The ribbon atop Tohka's head was like an ahoge, bobbing with every stroke and looking utterly adorable.

It was just that this hug was a little too tight. Squeezing all three of them together like this...

Ori-chan! Why are you just watching?

Shiori, suddenly dragged into this "sandwich" situation, went completely stiff.

Her cheek was forced into the crook of Tohka's shoulder, while on the other side were Qian Huanyue's silver strands of hair. Two completely different yet equally fresh scents lingered at the tip of her nose. She could feel Tohka's arms wrapped tightly around her, as well as Qian Huanyue's seemingly slender yet equally inescapable strength—though that was mainly because Tohka was squeezing them together.

Shiori's face instantly turned scarlet, her mind going blank as her hands hovered helplessly in midair, unsure where to put them.

"Shiori! Huanyue!" Tohka looked somewhat excited. "Thank you! I like you both the most!"