Chapter 15

"Shido! Lingmeng!"

Shido and Lingmeng instantly understood what Tohka wanted.

"Tohka!" they shouted together.

When they said her name, Tohka smiled with satisfaction.

Shido's heart gave a sudden thump. He realized this might be the first time he had seen Tohka smile.

Lingmeng froze for a moment too.

That's what it feels like to have your heart skip a beat! Lingmeng cried inwardly.

Just then, a violent explosion shook the entire school building.

Shido and Lingmeng instinctively grabbed the blackboard and a desk to steady themselves.

"W-what happened?" Shido asked in a panic.

Is the AST here? Unlike Shido, Lingmeng remained calm.

"Shido! Get down with that girl named Lingmeng!" Kotori's voice sounded in his right ear.

"Huh?"

"Questions later! Get down if you don't want to die!"

Shido had no idea what was going on, but he obeyed.

"Lingmeng, get down!" he warned her, then dropped to the floor as Kotori had instructed.

"Huh? Crawl faster? What did you say? I couldn't hear you!" The noise was so loud that Lingmeng had missed his words.

A deafening rat-tat-tat-tat erupted the next instant. Every window in the classroom shattered at once, and countless bullet holes appeared in the walls. It looked like the scene of a gang shootout.

"Lingmeng, look out!" Shido shouted when he saw a bullet flying toward her.

A bullet? I'll just dodge it.

Lingmeng smiled faintly. She was about to show off her incredible footwork when Shido lunged and tackled her to the floor.

"..." Lingmeng had mixed feelings. All she had wanted was one chance to show off. Was that so much to ask?

"Phew. That was close." Seeing that his tackle had saved Lingmeng from the bullet, Shido wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a relieved breath.

"Hey, done hugging me? Get off!" Lingmeng shoved Shido away.

"Ow!" Shido cried out. "That's pretty heartless, Lingmeng! I was trying to save you!"

"Sorry, Your Lordship Shido. I couldn't help myself."

"..." Shido fell silent for a moment, then touched his Earphones. "Kotori, what's going on?"

"Well, it looks like the AST outside either wants to force the Spirit to show herself or destroy the school so she loses her shelter."

"What? How can they do something so reckless?" Shido grew agitated as he listened.

"The Wizard Disaster Reconstruction Unit is standing by outside. They can restore the school in no time, so destroying a school or two is no big deal to them. Still, I didn't expect them to launch an all-out assault."

Shido looked up. Tohka wore an expression utterly different from the one she had shown while talking with him and Lingmeng, her gaze fixed on the wrecked windows.

Of course, just as when they had first met, neither the bullets nor even the shards of glass touched Tohka.

Yet her face had once again twisted in pain.

Wasn't the AST a little too hasty this time? They started attacking without even checking whether anyone was still in the school.

Lingmeng watched the bullets streaking through the air outside as the thought crossed her mind.

"Tohka!" Shido called out without thinking.

"...!" Tohka snapped back to herself and turned toward Shido and Lingmeng. "You two need to run! If you stay with me, my comrades will kill you sooner or later!"

Gunfire still raged, but the AST had at least stopped attacking their classroom for the moment.

"Shido, you have two choices now," Kotori said in his ear. "Run or stay."

Shido swallowed and was silent for a moment. "I'd really like to just go home. But... after coming this far, how could I run away?"

He kept his voice low as he spoke.

Shido's Invitation to a Date (Part One)

"You really are an idiot," Kotori teased in his ear.

"...Say what you want," Shido replied.

"That was a compliment. Here's some advice: if you don't want to die, stay as close to the Spirit as you can."

"...Is that so?" Shido murmured. It made sense. Most of the fire was aimed at Tohka, but with her protecting him, he was unlikely to get hurt.

Shido bit his lip and plopped down beside Tohka's feet.

"Shido, are you planning to stay here?" Lingmeng asked at once.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, Lingmeng. If you don't want to stay with me, go on ahead."

Shido pressed his palms together, his eyes full of apology. As far as he knew, Lingmeng had nothing to do with any of this. He was the one who had dragged her into it.

"What are you talking about? I'm Qian Lingmeng, and I'm no coward! Besides, didn't I say from the start that I'd protect you? What kind of bodyguard abandons the person she's protecting and runs away?"

Lingmeng thumped her chest and spoke with righteous conviction. Then she sat down beside Shido.

"Thank you, Lingmeng. Thank you for staying with us..."

Shido thought her promise to protect him was a little unrealistic. As far as he knew, Lingmeng was just a girl who could fight, and she was no match for the AST. Still, he was touched.

"It's nothing. Those Mecha Girls outside don't scare me. Shido Itsuka, I've got your back today."

Smiling, Lingmeng pointed a thumb at herself and made her bold declaration.

Seeing that Shido and Lingmeng were still there, Tohka hurriedly scolded them.

"What are you two still doing here? It's dangerous! Hurry and—"

"I don't care about that! The three of us are supposed to be talking right now, aren't we? So forget about those little things. You wanted to learn about this world, right? Lingmeng and I will tell you!"

Shido looked Tohka in the eye, his gaze unwavering.

"Lingmeng, you too...?" Tohka turned to her.

"Yep. My answer's the same as Shido's. I'm staying. I couldn't leave a girl behind and run away by myself."

Lingmeng sat cross-legged on the floor, rocking back and forth as she smiled.

"...All right..." Looking surprised, Tohka sat down opposite Shido and Lingmeng.

Sitting face-to-face with a girl and talking amid a hail of bullets was something neither Shido nor Lingmeng had ever experienced before.

Tohka had formed a protective barrier with her Spirit Power, giving them a place where they could talk to her.

Even so, bullets Shido had never encountered in daily life were now streaking past him like raindrops. He felt that the slightest movement might get him shot, so his whole body stayed rigid as he spoke with Tohka.

Lingmeng, who dealt with the AST regularly, was far more at ease. She chatted and laughed with Tohka as though the bullet-riddled classroom were her own home.

Shido kept glancing at Lingmeng, astonished that she did not seem afraid at all.

They talked about trivial things. Tohka asked questions she normally had no chance to ask, and Shido and Lingmeng answered patiently. Though their replies were simple, a satisfied smile appeared on Tohka's face.

"Her readings are gradually stabilizing. Shido, if you get the chance, try asking her something. We'd like to learn more about Spirits."

Shido considered Kotori's words for a moment, then spoke.

"Um... Tohka."

"What?"

"What exactly are you?"

Tohka frowned at his question. Lingmeng looked over curiously too.

Although Lingmeng was a Spirit herself, she knew little about Spirits. Shido's question made her want to hear how Tohka, a Spirit native to this world, would answer.

"I don't know."

"You... don't know...?"

Shido and Lingmeng both stared at her in confusion.

Huh? Seriously? Even the Spirits native to this world don't know what they are? That's ridiculous.

Lingmeng looked at Tohka in surprise, silently grumbling to herself.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's true! I suddenly came into being a long time ago. My memories are all distorted and hazy. Even I don't know what I am."

"I-is that so?" Shido said awkwardly, scratching his cheek.

Well, there goes my excitement. I thought we might learn something from Tohka.

Tohka's answer instantly dampened Lingmeng's interest.

Tohka sighed and folded her arms.

"That's how it is. Whenever I come to this world, that army of robots is already flying through the sky."

"An... army of robots?" Shido asked, puzzled.

She probably means the AST, Lingmeng realized at once.

"The humans who attacked me just now."

"Oh, you mean the AST." Shido gave a wry smile.

Suddenly, the tune that played when a puzzle was solved sounded through his Earphones, its cheerful electronic notes filling his right ear.

"Here's your chance, Shido!"

"Huh...? What?"

"According to the computer, the Spirit's affection for you has passed seventy! If you want to take things further, now's the time."

Kotori spoke excitedly as she watched the affection gauge on the big screen. Incidentally, Tohka's affection for Lingmeng was a little lower than for Shido, but not by much.

"Take things further... What am I supposed to do?"

"Hmm. For starters, try asking her on a date."

"What?!" Shido cried out before he could stop himself.

"Damn it, Shido, what's gotten into you? Why'd you yell so loud?"

Lingmeng clutched her chest. He had clearly startled her.

"Uh... sorry!" Shido apologized.

"You're acting weird. It's only been a week since I saw you, but you seem like a different person."

Lingmeng gave Shido a scornful look.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Shido?"

"Nothing. Please don't worry about it!" Shido tried to brush it off, but Tohka kept staring at him in surprise.

"Shido, you wimp, ask her already! Keep this momentum going and get closer to her. Hurry!"

"Even if you say that, the AST will attack Tohka as soon as she goes outside, won't they?" Shido said uneasily.

"That's exactly why you need to do it. Ask her to take shelter in a large building the next time she appears. An aquarium, a department store, a movie theater—any of those will do. An underground facility would be even better. That way, the AST won't be able to barge straight in."

"...Right." Shido nodded.

"What have you been muttering to yourself about? Are you plotting how to kill me after all?"

A fierce glint appeared in Tohka's eyes as she spoke, and a ball of light formed at her fingertip...

Shido's Invitation to a Date (Part Two)

"N-no, no! You've got it wrong!" Seeing that Tohka was about to attack him, Shido hurriedly protested.

"Tohka, calm down. Shido and I would never hurt you."