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

"Yeah, that's right."

"But every human I've met has said I have to die."

"Who said that? Shido and I don't want to kill you, do we?"

Lingmeng chimed in from the side. Well... technically, she wasn't human either.

"Is that so?" The girl narrowed her eyes, distrust returning to her face. "If you don't want to kill me, why are you here?"

"Oh! That's because Shido came up to get his home—" Ayame started to answer, but Shido clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Damn it, Shido! What was that for?" Lingmeng pulled his hand away and glared at him.

"...Sorry, Ayame. Could you please let me answer everything from here on?"

Shido pressed his palms together, his face full of apology.

"...I don't know what you're up to, but suit yourself!"

Lingmeng waved it off. She had no idea what Shido was trying to do, but she agreed.

"Get what?" the girl asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it!" Shido said with an awkward sweat. The whole story about coming up to get his homework had been a lie he'd told Ayame. He hadn't forgotten it at all.

"As for why we came here, uh... that's because..." Shido found himself at a loss.

"Another multiple-choice question?" Aboard the airship, Kotori took the Chupa Chups from her mouth and looked at the options that had appeared on the screen.

① "To see you, of course."

② "Does it really matter?"

③ "It was a coincidence! A coincidence!"

After every crew member had voted, option ① had the most votes.

"Well, judging by her reaction just now, we probably shouldn't pick ②. Shido, tell her you came to see her."

Kotori spoke into the microphone, and Shido slowly opened his mouth on the screen.

"I... I came to see you."

"...?"

The girl looked surprised. So did Ayame beside him.

"See me? Why?"

Yeah, I'd like to know why too. Didn't you say you came to get your homework? Since when did that turn into wanting to see the spirit?

As the girl tilted her head and Ayame complained inwardly, another set of options appeared on the screen.

① "I'm interested in you."

② "To fall in love with you."

③ "I have something to ask you."

"Hmm... what should we do?" Kotori propped up her chin with one hand. Then all the votes went to ②.

"At a time like this, he should be direct! Show some guts!"

"If he doesn't spell it out, she won't understand!"

The crew called out from below.

Kotori listened to their explanations and nodded in agreement.

"The other two will probably just lead to more questions, right? Shido, say, 'To fall in love with you.'"

Shido hesitated, but in the end, he spoke nervously.

"I... I came to... fall in love with you!" Shido practically shouted it.

"Damn, Shido, I had you all wrong! I thought you were a decent, mild-mannered virgin. I never knew you were this desperate to get your hands on her!"

Hearing Shido's answer, Lingmeng looked at him as if to say, “I never expected you to be this kind of person.”

"N-no, that's not it! You've got the wrong idea!" Seeing that Ayame had misunderstood, Shido hurried to explain.

At that moment, a blade of wind swept over Shido's head, split the classroom wall, and kept flying outside. Several strands of his hair were severed and fluttered through the air.

"Don't joke about that!" The purple-haired girl looked wounded and furious...

I Won't Deny You

“Shido, did you forget to take your medicine today, or take the wrong kind? There's no way someone like you would say something so lustful!”

Lingmeng stared at Shido in disbelief and called him out for what he'd just said.

At that moment, the crew of Fraxinus, Kotori included, all raised their eyebrows slightly. They had told Shido to say those words, after all. Lingmeng might as well have been calling them out too.

“It's a misunderstanding! I swear it is!” Shido protested with all his might.

He turned back to the girl. She looked as though she believed no one would ever care about her, as though she had given up on the world. Shido hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"I... I came here because I wanted to talk to you."

"What do you mean?"

“That should be exactly what he means, right, Shido?” Lingmeng chimed in.

"Yeah. I want to talk to you. We can talk about anything. If you don't want to, you can ignore me. But please understand one thing. I—"

“Shido, calm down! Don't just go off-script!” Kotori warned him, but Shido didn't stop.

Unlike the girl, Shido had his parents, his little sister, and a friend like Ayame by his side. But the girl was all alone.

If that was how it was, then he, Shido Itsuka, would be the one to tell her!

"I won't deny you!"

Bang! Shido's words seemed to strike the very heart of the girl. She furrowed her brow and looked away from him.

Ah, now that's something the Shido I know would say! What was that lustful nonsense earlier?

Lingmeng folded her arms and nodded with a smile.

After a while, the girl parted her lips.

“...Shido. You said your name was Shido, right?”

"—That's right."

"You really won't deny me?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Really, really, really?"

"Really, really, really."

"Hey, hey! Can you two stop repeating yourselves? All this 'really, really' is making me dizzy!"

Seeing that Shido and the girl might keep going forever, Ayame couldn't help interrupting them.

“Uh... sorry. I got a little carried away.” Shido scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

The purple-haired girl turned to Ayame as well. "Your name is Ayame, right? You won't deny me either, like Shido?"

Lingmeng froze for a moment, then answered.

"I can't promise that. Even lovers who've sworn to stay together forever, or brothers who've faced death together, might betray each other. People's hearts change. Someone could call you a friend one moment and throw you into the fire the next. I don't think I'm generous enough to accept absolutely anyone, so I'm sorry..."

"...I see..." The girl seemed to deflate at Ayame's answer.

"Lingmeng... isn't that a bit one-sided?" Shido said quietly. He thought her words had been a little inappropriate too.

Lingmeng only gave him an enigmatic smile before continuing.

"But! I think everything has a reason to exist. No one has the right to deny another person's existence. At least, that's what I believe. So please don't ever think your existence has no value. Everyone is the brightest star in their own world!"

Lingmeng smiled, privately praising herself for how incredibly cool that had sounded.

"Really?" The girl perked up again at Ayame's words.

"Really! But please don't start that 'really, really' routine with me."

Remembering how the girl had repeated herself like a broken record, Ayame gave an awkward laugh.

"Phew. You scared me for a second. I thought you were about to say something extreme again, Ayame."

Shido let out a breath, visibly relieved.

Lingmeng just smiled. "Don't worry. I know where to draw the line."

The girl frowned, pouted, and folded her arms in an unmistakably haughty pose.

"I'm not going to fall for your words! I-idiots! Idiots!"

Wow, a real tsundere! (//?//)

Lingmeng grew excited at the girl's display. She had never met a tsundere in her previous life. Now that she finally had, she could cross one wish off her list.

"I'm not lying..." Shido replied.

"...But, um..." A complicated look crossed the girl's face.

"I don't know what you're plotting, but you're the only humans who've wanted to talk to me... So I'll make a little use of you to learn about this world!"

With that, the girl gave another huff.

"Want information? Sure, I'd be happy to help!" Lingmeng agreed with a smile.

"Yeah. Ask me anything. If I know the answer, I'll tell you." Shido nodded, determination in his eyes.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only doing this for information. Yes, that's right! Information is very important!"

"Sure, sure, I know!" Lingmeng answered casually.

It was only a slight change, but Shido noticed that the girl's eyes seemed to soften as she talked with him and Ayame.

Well... I guess we've made contact, at least?

Shido scratched his cheek as the thought crossed his mind.

"Not bad, Shido. Keep it up," Kotori encouraged him through his earpiece.

"Ah, okay..."

The girl took a few long strides and began slowly looking around the classroom.

"But if either of you does anything suspicious, I'll put a big hole in you."

"Got it, got it~ (￣▽￣~)~"

"...Okay, I understand."

Shido and Ayame answered in turn.

"Shido. Lingmeng."

"What is it?" they asked together.

"Tell me, what is this place? I've never seen anywhere like it."

As she spoke, the girl walked along, running her hands over the desks that were still standing.

"It's a classroom at a school," Ayame said casually.

"School?" The girl tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Shido quickly added, "It's where students our age come to learn. They sit at those desks, like this."

"What!?" The girl's eyes widened. "People sit at all these desks? Don't joke with me. There are almost forty of them!"