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

"...I want to go. I really, really want to!"

"Yeah, exactly! Lady Tohka, please come with us! We're so weak. If someone attacks us, we'll need you to protect us!"

That was what Shido and Lingmeng told her.

The corners of Tohka's mouth lifted slightly as she listened. Their approach seemed to be working.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you two? Since you're asking so sincerely, I suppose I'll go in with you!"

Tohka finished speaking with a radiant smile, then swaggered over and opened the bakery door.

Shido and Lingmeng exchanged a smile before following her inside.

Meanwhile, a girl watched everything from behind a wall. It was none other than Origami Tobiichi.

When Origami arrived at school that day, she found classes had been canceled and decided to go home. But on the way back, she happened to spot her boyfriend, Shido Itsuka, walking through town with two girls.

The one with long golden hair didn't worry her. Origami didn't consider her a threat to Shido. The purple-haired girl, however, was a serious problem.

She was the Spirit Origami had fought yesterday, the one with the identification code Princess.

Normally, a being like her appearing in this world should have triggered an alarm and caused a Spacequake. Yet somehow, Princess had manifested today without one. Origami couldn't make sense of it.

"AST, Sergeant Origami Tobiichi. A-0613."

Origami tapped her phone screen and selected a number from her contacts. After giving her identity and authentication code, she got straight to the point.

"Send an observation unit."

"Hey, don't they sell kinako bread here?"

Lingmeng and the others had left the bakery and were now in a restaurant.

After eating kinako bread at the bakery, Tohka seemed to have fallen in love with the taste. She scanned the menu at lightning speed, searching for more.

"This is a restaurant. They don't sell kinako bread here."

Lingmeng watched her and gave her a helpless reminder.

"What? They don't have kinako bread? If they don't even have that, this place can't be very good."

Tohka's shoulders slumped at Lingmeng's words.

"...You can't blame the restaurant. That's not what they sell. Besides, Tohka, didn't you eat a lot of it back there?"

Shido smiled wryly. He had watched Tohka eat more than a dozen portions of bread!

"But I want more. What exactly is that powder? It's so addictive. If people are allowed to have it without restraint, it'll cause serious trouble. They'll tremble with withdrawal and start wars over more kinako."

"You're overthinking it. They can make as much of it as anyone wants."

Lingmeng hurried to explain when she heard Tohka describe an ordinary bread as if it were a dangerous substance.

"What? Something that wonderful can be made over and over again?"

"Uh... more or less."

Shido scratched his cheek awkwardly under Tohka's astonished gaze.

"Pfft!" Just then, someone across from Shido and Lingmeng spat out a mouthful of water.

"...Hm?"

At first, Shido assumed the person had simply choked, so he paid no attention. Tohka was absorbed in the menu and didn't notice either. Lingmeng, however, glanced over instinctively.

Across from them sat a little red-haired girl in a middle-school uniform, her twin tails tied with white ribbons. Beside her was a white-haired woman in her twenties, wearing a pale sweater and jeans, with heavy dark circles under her eyes.

The younger girl seemed to notice Lingmeng looking at them and hastily raised her menu to hide her face.

The white-haired woman saw what she was doing and raised her own menu to hide behind it.

Ah, it's rude to keep staring at strangers. I'd probably do the same thing.

Not wanting to make the other customers uncomfortable, Lingmeng turned her attention back to Tohka.

If Shido had seen the faces of the customers across from them, he would have cried out in surprise.

The two sitting there were none other than his younger sister, Kotori Itsuka, and Ratatoskr analyst Reine Murasame!

Shido's Wallet Crisis

"Hey, Reine, am I seeing things? Is my big brother really on a restaurant date with two girls?"

Kotori stared at Shido in the distance, her voice full of disbelief.

Kotori had meant to go to school that day, but the Spacequake Tohka had caused yesterday seemed to have affected her school too. When she reached the gates, she found her classes had been canceled, just like Shido's.

Since she had come all this way, she invited Reine out for tea. She never expected to run into Shido here, much less with two beautiful girls.

Kotori would have had no problem with Shido getting a girlfriend and taking her on a date. He had a duty to date Spirits and seal their powers, but whom he chose to be with was his own business. Kotori had no right to interfere.

What she hadn't expected was for Shido to take two beautiful girls on a date together without her knowing.

Even harder to believe, one of them was a Spirit—the very kind of girl they called a disaster. Kotori couldn't process it all at once.

"...Yeah, I see it too." Reine checked her phone and found no messages from Ratatoskr.

That meant the Spirit might have manifested in this world without causing a Spacequake.

Of course, the girl might simply resemble Tohka. But if that were true, it meant Shido had taken two ordinary girls out without Ratatoskr's help.

It was a harsh thought, but compared with a Spirit quietly manifesting, Shido taking girls out on his own seemed even more far-fetched.

"...I see." Reine touched her chin. "...If that's what happened, we're in trouble. Can Shido really win over a Spirit without Ratatoskr's help?"

"Hmm..." Kotori frowned. Then she swapped to her black hair ribbons, entered commander mode, and used her phone to connect to Ratatoskr.

"...Yes, it's me. We have an emergency. Begin Operation F-08, 'Tenguu Holiday Plan.' Get back to your posts as fast as you can!"

Reine's cheek twitched as she listened. When Kotori finished, she spoke up.

"...Kotori, what are you planning to do?"

"We don't have much choice. I'll negotiate with the restaurant right away." Kotori popped a Chupa Chups into her mouth and flashed a confident grin.

"Now, let our war—our date—begin!"

"Well, if they don't have kinako bread, they don't have it. I'll try something new."

Tohka spread her hands with a resigned sigh.

"Sure, pick whatever you like!" Lingmeng smiled at Tohka, then added under her breath, "I'm not the one paying, anyway."

"Lingmeng, are you treating me like your meal ticket? I didn't bring much money today."

Shido had apparently heard her. He gave her a strained look.

Lingmeng patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Shido! There's no way the two of us girls can eat that much."

"...Is that so?" Shido muttered, unconvinced.

"Right, let's see what they have." Lingmeng picked up a menu, but Tohka's voice stopped her before she could order.

"I want this, and this, and this... Can I have all that?"

Tohka rattled off dozens more items to a waiter who had appeared beside them, her eyes gleaming.

"Certainly." The waiter wrote down Tohka's order in a notebook.

"...Lingmeng, didn't you say you girls couldn't eat that much?"

Shido stared at the dozen or so dishes Tohka had ordered, looking deeply troubled.

"Uh... forget I said that. Do you have enough money?"

Lingmeng looked just as embarrassed.

"If I'm only paying for Tohka's food, I should just about manage."

"I see..." Lingmeng mumbled, then turned to the waiter. "Please make everything you've written down. And..."

"And?" the waiter asked.

"Um... could you bring the two of us each a glass of water?"

Lingmeng scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Of course." The waiter headed toward the kitchen.

"Sorry, Lingmeng. If I'd known this would happen, I'd have brought more money." Shido looked at her apologetically.

"It's fine, really. I don't mind something this small." Lingmeng waved a hand to show she meant it.

"Mm... thanks for understanding..." Shido fell silent.

Before long, the waiters came out carrying plate after plate and set them all before Tohka. The spread of lavish dishes made a stark contrast with the glasses of water in front of Shido and Lingmeng.

"Oh, these all look delicious." Tohka took a bite with her fork. Her eyes widened, and she began eating faster and faster until she could no longer stop.

"This is amazing! I never imagined humans got to eat food this good every day. They're so lucky!"

As she spoke, the food before her vanished at astonishing speed. Soon she had finished every dish, leaving Shido and Lingmeng staring in disbelief.

How can she eat so much? they both thought.

"Ah, that was satisfying!" Tohka rubbed her stomach and gave a small burp.

"As long as you're happy..." Shido forced a smile. Inside, his heart was bleeding. Tohka had eaten his wallet dry.

"All right, Tohka, let's go." Shido stood up, ready to leave.

"Hm? We're leaving already?"

"We are. Shido's practically bankrupt!" Lingmeng shot him a teasing look.

Shido only coughed awkwardly before heading to the register to pay.

"I'd like to settle the bill." Shido placed three bills—every bit of cash he had—on the counter.

As he raised his head to speak, he suddenly frowned and took a step back.

That was because the cashier in front of him was...

"...Certainly. That's three thousand yen."

The woman behind the counter was someone he had met before. She wore glasses, had unmistakable dark circles under her eyes, and always looked half-asleep: Reine Murasame, Ratatoskr's analyst.

"Wha... wh-wh-wh—"

"What's wrong, Shido? Is she an enemy?"

Seeing Shido panic, Tohka turned toward him with a chilling expression.

"What happened?" Lingmeng stepped up beside Shido and recognized the cashier as the customer from across the restaurant. "Weren't you sitting opposite us earlier? So you work here?"

She sounded surprised.

"...Yes. I was on my break earlier. My shift started, so I changed and got to work."

Reine nodded, not the least bit flustered by Lingmeng's question. She looked exactly like an ordinary employee.

"...Lingmeng, what do you mean, the customer who was sitting opposite us just now?"

Shido asked, his face darkening.

"Oh, Shido, didn't you notice just now? That person was sitting across from us the whole time."

"I see..." Shido muttered, breaking into a cold sweat. Had Ratatoskr been watching me ever since I came in?

Chapter 35: Aloof Tohka Turns into a Ditzy Airhead

"...Here's your change and receipt."

Dressed in a cute uniform with a little bear perched on her shoulder, Reine suddenly fixed her sleepy eyes on Shido with a sharp, bright glare. It frightened him badly.

Seeing the sharp, alert look in Reine's eyes, Shido initially thought she was saying, "If you dare tell anyone I'm working here, I'll kill you."