Qian Huanyue: Is Shiori a Girl?

The sky had grown much dimmer. At this highest point overlooking the entire city, Tohka and Shiori were having a harmonious conversation.

Qian Huanyue looked around, searching for the short-haired whitehead who might appear.

In the trees?

No!

On the hillside?

No!

Where the hell was Origami?!

At a high point somewhere else, Origami Tobiichi watched the silver-haired Spirit spinning in circles below through her sniper scope, expressionlessly adjusting her aiming parameters.

Shiori... was together with a Spirit.

Her pale violet eyes precisely locked onto a distant glint—the faint reflection of a sniper scope beneath the setting sun.

Finally... she had found her.

Origami Tobiichi saw the silver-haired Spirit suddenly smile in her direction. Her pupils contracted as she watched the other girl deliberately turn her face, completely exposing her temple before the crosshairs, as though she were saying—

'Want to give it a try?'

Origami found that the finger resting on her trigger was trembling slightly.

She had been discovered.

But her long years of training and her unwavering hatred for Spirits ultimately overwhelmed that momentary hesitation. With her formidable mental discipline, she steadied her breathing, and her gaze became sharp as ice once more.

"Huanyue! Watch out—!!!"

Beside her, Shiori, who had just sensed that something was wrong, only had time to let out a heart-wrenching cry. Almost instinctively, she threw herself at Qian Huanyue with all her strength and violently shoved her away!

"Guh!"

Qian Huanyue's eyes widened slightly as she lay on the ground, her head aching a little.

And Shiori...

Carried by the momentum of her leap and shove, she went flying as well and, without missing at all... landed on top of the fallen Qian Huanyue.

Several flying [Seraph of Thousand Blades] redirected the bullet that was about to strike Shiori to the moon.

"Hmph!"

"You actually dared to hurt my best friend!"

Tohka glared in that direction with naked hostility. From the weapon's aura alone, she had already recognized it as the "robot army" that usually attacked her.

"[Divine Majesty Astral Dress, Number Ten]."

Tohka was once again clad in her purple armored dress, her Astral Dress that she took such pride in. Holding [Sandalphon], her hostile violet eyes sharply fixed upon the source of the sniper beam.

"How much longer are you going to stay on top of me?" Qian Huanyue smiled helplessly. "Shiori."

If she had not activated her Angel just now, the offensive barrier placed upon the CR-Unit bullet...

would have blasted a hole larger than a bowl through Shiori's abdomen, just like in the original story.

That would not have been especially amusing. Shiori could use the spiritual power of the Flame Spirit within her body to recover from her injuries, but the pain would not disappear.

Only then did Shiori suddenly snap back to her senses and realize that she was still entirely sprawled atop Qian Huanyue.

"Mm, heh... ah... huff, huff..."

The fright of that brush with death had left her limbs weak. Her heart was still pounding wildly, and for a moment, she was too drained to get up immediately.

Moisture unconsciously welled up across her face as well. Cold tears silently slid down and fell onto the skin at Qian Huanyue's neck.

They were physiological tears, mixed with lingering fear, terror, and the realization that she had nearly died—yet she did not regret what she had done.

Qian Huanyue froze. She clearly felt that sudden warm droplet against her neck, and her smile faded.

The countless faint suspicions she had automatically ignored time and again suddenly no longer seemed so important.

Spirits were actually very strong. Qian Huanyue steadily helped Shiori to her feet.

Qian Huanyue soothingly ruffled the blue-haired girl's head. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, it absolutely did not feel like a wig.

"Did that scare you?" Huanyue wiped the tears from her eyes with her thumb. "You'll be fine. Or rather, with me here, you won't be harmed."

"Ugh... hic... Huanyue... sorry." Shiori stopped crying, her face full of softness.

Don't make such a cute expression like you're acting spoiled.

Yet even as Qian Huanyue found the girl before her both amusing and pitiful, immense dissatisfaction filled her chest.

She suddenly leaned close to Shiori, close enough that they could feel each other's warm breath.

Under Shiori's stunned, tear-streaked gaze, she raised a hand and deftly removed the concealed earpiece Shiori was wearing.

Without pausing, Qian Huanyue leaned closer toward Shiori, removed her concealed earpiece, pinched the tiny device between her fingertips, and gave a quiet snort.

"Ratatoskr. Fraxinus. I know you're listening."

"What can you do for Shiori, for Spirits?"

Shiori had not yet mastered the power of a Spirit. If the place where she was hurt was split completely open and no longer covered by skin, or if her head was cut off, she would truly die.

Qian Huanyue seemed to have realized that she had been wrong about something she had habitually overlooked.

There had never been any "Shido" here.

The one who had always been with her was Shiori.

Had she been deceived?

No, that was not right. She had never asked the other girl's gender.

Before Shiori Itsuka came to know Spirits, before the main story began, she had always been an ordinary, normal person. Why had she, as a girl, needed to play the role of a man?

Or did they think it was inconvenient to seal Spirits as a woman, forcing her to live like this?

That was simply arrogant beyond measure.

The Shido from the story had been adopted when he was still quite young.

So while Shiori was still at an age when she could not make decisions about her own life, she had been half-pushed, half-persuaded into accepting such an identity.

Perhaps she had ordinary girls' interests too, liking cute things, but those most natural emotions and needs had all been suppressed beneath the identity of "Shido Itsuka."

At school, she could not naturally interact with people of the same sex, while around the opposite sex, she could not fully relax either. Wouldn't that cause psychological pressure?

Was Ratatoskr and Fraxinus truly such a wonderful organization? The reason it had been established in the first place was because one of the magicians who had summoned the Origin Spirit, a man named Woodman, had fallen in love with an Origin Spirit.

If she had still been that person from before she crossed over, the one who watched anime in front of a screen and had not yet been called Qian Huanyue, she would not have felt so strongly about this.

But the Shiori before her was someone Qian Huanyue cared about.

Even the ordinary daily life she should have had as a normal girl had been taken from her, forcing her to play a male "self."

Just thinking about it made Qian Huanyue unable to calm the ache in her heart.

She had always been the exceptionally good-tempered type. Even if Kurumi wanted to eat her, she would willingly let Kurumi absorb her spiritual power and become her friend. Even when AST's cannons mercilessly fired at her, she had no desire to kill them.

"Answer me." Qian Huanyue spoke into the earpiece, her voice low and oppressive. "What exactly do you consider Shiori to be?"

Qian Huanyue pinched the tiny earpiece, applying slight pressure with her fingertips. Its casing seemed as though it would shatter at any moment.

Seriously, compared to DEM, Ratatoskr and Fraxinus were also among the world leaders in CR-Unit technology.

Even Kanazuki, above them, had been a former AST captain. What was wrong with the organization protecting Shiori a little more—the key to sealing and protecting Spirits?

Other than financial support and logistical support for Spirits, Qian Huanyue truly could not see how they had been much help.

Shiori stared blankly at Qian Huanyue's profile. Upon it was a coldness she had never seen before and... anger on her behalf, anger that she did not deserve this.

From the other end of the earpiece, Kotori seemed to be trying to explain, but Qian Huanyue could no longer be bothered to distinguish her words.

"No, that's not it, Huanyue." Shiori had calmed down somewhat and still looked a little dazed, but the emotion in her voice was genuine. "Those were things I chose to do. I want to save you, and Spirits like you."

Qian Huanyue, whose face had seemed tense just moments ago, suddenly let out a soft "Pfft."

Shiori, are you also at 32 Intelligence?

Qian Huanyue felt that if Shiori said a few more things like that, she was going to throw a tantrum.

"Did I scare you by saying something so selfish?" Her voice returned to its usual gentle calm, as though nothing had happened.

"Think about yourself a little more..."

"Shiori Itsuka." Qian Huanyue called her name with a half-smile, then tucked the earpiece, which she had not crushed, back into Shiori's ear.

"Aren't you going to save Spirits? Goodbye. I'll leave Tohka to you."

Though her tone was no different from usual, Shiori felt that Qian Huanyue was angry. Without hesitation, she apologized guiltily.

"Sorry... Huanyue said so much for me, thought so much about me... waaah!!!!"

Before she could finish, the solid ground beneath her feet instantly vanished, replaced by a suddenly opened spatial rift glowing dark purple—it was [Seraph of Thousand Blades]' ability!

"Waaaaah—waaaaaaahhh..."

Shiori fell from an enormous height.

Qian Huanyue felt that she needed to check on Tohka. Otherwise, Origami was about to be cut to death by [Sandalphon].

Watching warm-hearted Shiori turn into a tiny dot in the sky, Qian Huanyue felt the blockage in her chest clear considerably, and the corners of her lips rose.

Served her right.

Idiot.

Moron.