I Became a Spirit in Date A Live, but I Refuse to Date

Lingmeng returned to the alley where she had first met Shido, hoping to try her luck and see if things would go as well as they had last time.

"Hey there, pretty girl. What are you doing here all alone?"

Sure enough, a sleazy voice called out before long. For some reason, though, Lingmeng felt she had heard it before.

"Wait, that voice sounds familiar. Don't tell me..."

Lingmeng turned around and, to her surprise, found the same thug from last time.

"What the hell? You guys again! I thought getting beaten up would stop you from harassing people, but here you are!"

"Y-you're that girl from last time..." The three thugs pointed at Lingmeng in terror. They had never imagined they would run into her again a month later.

"Ahem. Different day, same alley. As it happens, I'm a little short on cash again. So could you..."

Lingmeng rubbed her fingers together with a wicked grin.

"Yes! We understand!" The thugs pulled out their wallets in perfect unison and handed them to her.

They never would have dreamed they would lose their wallets in the same place a second time. And the craziest part? It was to the same damn person!

"Mm-hmm, very good!" Lingmeng took the cash from their wallets and nodded as though praising eager students. "Since you handed it over so willingly, I won't beat you up this time. I've got things to do, so I'll be off. See you next time!"

She waved with a smile and left.

What? There's going to be a next time? The thugs stared after her in despair.

"...You know, maybe we should stop harassing people and turn over a new leaf?"

"I'm in!"

"No objections here."

"Maybe I'll find an inn and stay a few days?"

Lingmeng considered it as she walked down the street. She had just robbed—borrowed another hundred thousand yen from those thugs. That ought to cover a few days at an ordinary inn, right?

And there it was. No sooner had she thought of an inn than she found herself standing in front of one.

Three large words stood out on the sign high above the building: "Dingding Tower."

Most of the people going in and out looked like tourists from out of town.

"Dingding Tower, huh? This'll do!"

Murmuring to herself, Lingmeng smiled and decided to stay there for the next few days.

She strode through the entrance, and the elegant interior immediately made a good impression on her.

"Welcome to Dingding! How long will you be staying?"

Lingmeng looked toward the voice and saw a pretty young woman speaking to her from the front desk.

The receptionist? She's gorgeous!

Thanks to the receptionist's looks, Dingding Tower went up another notch in Lingmeng's estimation.

"Uh... I'm not actually sure how long. Could I book a week for now?"

Lingmeng scratched her cheek, sounding a little embarrassed.

"A week? Certainly, no problem!" the receptionist replied with a professional smile.

"How much is it altogether?"

"Ten thousand yen. Will you be paying in cash, through WeChat, or with Alipay?"

"Cash, please!" Cash was all Lingmeng had, so she paid with that.

After Lingmeng handed over the ten thousand yen, the receptionist gave her a key.

"Here's your room key. Please keep it safe! Room 404 is on the far right of the second floor. Enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks!" Lingmeng thanked her and followed her directions to the room.

Click! Lingmeng unlocked the door with the key.

Inside, the furnishings and decor looked good enough to rival a five-star hotel. And Dingding Tower charged her only ten thousand yen for all this? What a bargain!

Ten thousand yen was only about six hundred yuan in the currency of her previous life. Dingding Tower rose another whole level in Lingmeng's estimation.

Without a second thought, Lingmeng leaped onto the bed. Staring at the white ceiling, she murmured to herself.

"Dingding, huh? If there were ratings, I'd give you five stars!"

A week flew by, and Lingmeng's stay came to an end.

For nearly every day of that week, her routine had been the same—

Sleep until noon, wash up and eat lunch, play on her phone, eat dinner, play on her phone until three or four in the morning, then go to sleep...

She had repeated that routine all week and had hardly gone outside. It gave Lingmeng a taste of her old shut-in life.

"Come again!" With the receptionist's farewell ringing behind her, Lingmeng left Dingding Tower.

Evening was approaching, and the sun was about to set. Lingmeng was still deciding between sushi and a little burger for dinner when the spacequake alarm sounded again.

"Wooo... wooo... wooo... wooo... wooo..."

As usual, everyone fled within moments of the alarm, leaving Lingmeng alone on the street.

"..." Lingmeng fell silent for a moment. "Oh, come on! Why does a spacequake happen every time I'm out on the street?"

She couldn't help complaining. There had been a spacequake when she first arrived in Tengu City, another when she came back a week ago, and now one had started just after she stepped outside. The coincidence was almost enough to make her laugh.

"Sounds like it's happening at the school. The Spirit probably appeared there too. I've got nothing better to do, so why not take a look?"

Lingmeng decided to see what was going on. Without another thought, she used her ability to transport herself near the school.

At the school gates, Lingmeng found that the spacequake had left the place almost unrecognizable. The sign by the entrance was still intact enough to tell her its name.

Raizen High School.

"Let's have a look around!" Lingmeng said, heading straight inside without worrying about anything else.

"Hm? Is that someone up ahead? The school's been wrecked, and he's still here. How much does that guy love studying?"

Lingmeng had spotted a boy standing in front of a classroom building some distance away, so she took a closer look.

To her surprise, it was Shido Itsuka. Of all people, she had run into him again...

Stop Chasing Girls and Go Home

"Kotori, is the Spirit upstairs?" Shido spoke to his younger sister, Kotori Itsuka, through a hidden earpiece.

Life had been anything but peaceful for Shido lately. Ever since Lingmeng had saved him a week ago, he had woken up to find himself aboard an airship for reasons he couldn't begin to understand.

His sister had explained Spirits, AST, and Ratatoskr to him at a speed his brain could barely keep up with.

She claimed Ratatoskr had been built for him and that he was supposed to save Spirits by dating them.

Who would believe something so ridiculous? Yet Kotori had more or less forced him to agree.

Over the following week, her bizarre demands had nearly driven him mad. She made him play a dating game named after him, then told him to chat up his teacher and classmates.

Every time Shido made a wrong choice, Kotori threatened to expose one of his embarrassing secrets. He had no choice but to take the training seriously.

A week passed like that. Now a Spirit had appeared again, and Shido was finally leaving practice behind for his first real encounter—

"Yeah. According to Fraxinus's computer, the Spirit is most likely here."

His sister's voice came through his earpiece. Instead of her usual cutesy tone, Kotori sounded like a battle-hardened commander today.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Shido asked, narrowing his eyes in doubt.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Kotori flashed a fierce grin.

"Relax, Shido. Fraxinus has plenty of reliable talent aboard! With them backing you up, even a paramecium like you can get through this easily."

"R-really?" Shido still sounded doubtful.

"Hmph. You don't believe me? Fine, I'll introduce them!"

Aboard the airship, Kotori flicked her coat with a flourish and began presenting her proud subordinates like a boss showing off her team—

"The master of romance with five marriages under his belt—Kawagoe, 'Quick to Lose the Spark'!"

Doesn't that just mean he's been divorced five times?!

"Popular with Filipinos at nightclubs and proud of it—Senbon, 'The President'!"

That's just his money talking!

"Love rivals meet with misfortune one after another. The woman of two in the morning—Shiizaki, 'The Cursed Doll'!"

She definitely cursed her love rivals, didn't she?!

"The man with a hundred brides—Nakatsugawa, 'The Dimension Hopper'!"

He's just an otaku! And all his wives are fictional, aren't they?!

"She loved her sweetheart so much that the law now forbids her from coming within five hundred kilometers of him—Minowa, 'Under Restraining Order'!"

What did she do in the name of love?! Why are they all like this?!

"Ah... I suddenly want to go home." Shido clutched his head, looking utterly miserable. He no longer had the strength to object.

"...Shido, don't worry. They're all trustworthy crew members."

Reine's voice came through his earpiece.

"...Even if you say that..." Before Shido could finish, he felt someone tap him on the back.

"Pfft—" Shido staggered as though he had coughed up blood.

"Hey, Shido! It's almost night. Why are you hanging around here instead of going home to sleep? Don't you know there was a spacequake? It's dangerous!"

"Huh?! Lingmeng, what are you doing here?"

Shido turned around. The blonde girl before him was Lingmeng, who had returned a week ago.

"I happened to pass by. You were just standing here in a daze, so I came over to say hi."

"Oh, I see..."

"So what are you doing sneaking around here all by yourself?" Lingmeng asked.

"Uh... I'm a student here. It was my turn to clean today, so I stayed late."

Shido thought for a moment before giving his awkward reply.

Lingmeng glanced at his school uniform. "Oh," she said, then continued.

"Well, you're outside now, so you must be done cleaning, right? There was just a spacequake here. It's dangerous. Let's go!"

She reached for Shido's hand to lead him away.

"Shido! Who is she?! Get rid of her! If you keep wasting time, the Spirit will leave!" Kotori shouted as she watched the monitor.

"I don't know how to do that!" Shido replied, torn.

"If you don't get her to leave and the Spirit gets away, I'll send that song you wrote in eighth grade, 'The Messenger from Hell,' to everyone at your school—with your name on it!"

"!!!"

Shido went rigid. He had never expected Kotori to go that far. He had sealed that song away! How had she even found it?

"Ah... fine," Shido said helplessly. Then he turned to Lingmeng. "Um... I think I left something in the classroom. I need to go get it. Why don't you head back without me?"

He scratched his cheek, sweating with embarrassment.

"You can get it tomorrow. Listen to me, it's dangerous here. Come on."

Lingmeng had no intention of giving up.

"But it's my homework. If I don't do it tonight, the teacher will scold me tomorrow."

"Your life matters more than homework. I'm telling you, the girl who almost cut us down a week ago is up there. If you go upstairs now, she might attack you again!"