I Became a Spirit in Date A Live and Refused to Date

But the condition for sealing her powers was to raise her affection for Shido. Put simply, she had to fall in love with him, and that made her uncomfortable.

Just imagining two grown men as a loving couple made Lingmeng's scalp crawl.

"How will we know whether your affection can rise high enough for the seal unless we try? Lingmeng, please give me a chance! I promise I'll help you."

Shido thumped his chest and spoke with conviction.

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't need saving. I'm glad you care, but you'd be better off putting that energy into other Spirits.

"Because I really can't feel anything for you beyond friendship."

Lingmeng gave a weary, bitter smile.

"But..." Shido seemed about to say more, but Lingmeng cut him off.

"Listen to me. Just go home. I'm sure Kotori won't do anything to you. If I've guessed right, they more or less forced you into agreeing to this, didn't they?"

"Well, I was sort of pressured into it, but I truly want to save you!

"You've never told me, but I know something's weighing on your mind, Lingmeng. Am I right?"

Lingmeng froze at Shido's words.

That got through to her. Seeing a reaction, Shido decided to press on.

"My birth mother abandoned me when I was little, so I've always been especially sensitive to other people's negative emotions.

"I knew from the moment we met that although you seem warm toward everyone, you deliberately keep your distance from them too. Why?"

"Stop talking." Lingmeng clenched her fists as she spoke to Shido.

"Shido Itsuka, let me make this clear. Even if the AST blows me to pieces, even if I jump off Ratatoskr and die out there, I, Qian Lingmeng, will never go on a date with you!"

With that, Lingmeng reached out and touched Shido's right shoulder. He vanished from right in front of her.

Looking at the empty space where he had stood, Lingmeng muttered to herself.

"Was I too harsh on him? Well, even so, that's better than letting him get hurt because of me, right?"

Then Lingmeng strolled back into the hotel...

"Huh? How did I end up back home?" Shido stared around him, utterly baffled.

"Wow, Shido! How did you suddenly appear like that? That was amazing! ('.?ω?.｀)"

Tohka cried out in excitement at Shido's sudden appearance.

"What happened, Shido? I told you to ask Lingmeng on a date. Why are you back?" Kotori asked, frowning beneath her black hair ribbons.

"I... I don't know what happened either. I just remember Lingmeng touching my shoulder, and then I was here."

Shido explained with an innocent look.

"Looks like she teleported you back with her powers. Instant teleportation, huh? That's frightening." Kotori popped a Chupa Chups into her mouth. "But that doesn't matter. Did Lingmeng agree to the date?"

"Sorry... I think I failed. And she rejected me pretty bluntly..."

Shido scratched his cheek with a rueful smile.

"You probably said something that upset her." Kotori gave him a teasing look. "Shido, you really are helpless without Ratatoskr backing you up, aren't you?"

"..." Shido's face darkened. "Maybe... At least when it comes to dating..."

Honestly, Shido had thought he had it in the bag. He had never expected Lingmeng's reaction to be so different from what he'd imagined.

"Oh? You admitted it just like that? Normally you'd argue back at least a little."

Kotori looked at Shido in surprise.

Just then, Tohka puffed out her cheeks and spoke up unhappily.

"Shido, Kotori, what are you two talking about? I don't understand any of it!"

"It's nothing... Just a little thing," Shido said, breaking into a sweat.

"Don't lie to me! I heard you talking about Lingmeng. I don't understand what you meant, but if you're planning to hurt her, I'll be angry!"

Tohka bared her teeth and struck what she thought was her fiercest pose. To Shido and Kotori, though, she just looked adorable.

"We're not trying to hurt Lingmeng..." Shido turned to Kotori. "What do we do now?"

Kotori merely sighed and waved a hand.

"Well, Shido, you'd better tell Tohka about Lingmeng. It'll be a disaster if we end up upsetting both of them."

"All right..." Shido turned back to Tohka and reluctantly began explaining everything...

My Living Expenses!

"Wow, the weather's great today!"

The next morning, Lingmeng stepped out of the hotel and stretched beneath the blue sky.

"Well, a lot happened yesterday, but I might as well forget it. It's such a nice day. A walk around town should help me clear my head."

With that, Lingmeng left the hotel and headed into town.

Not long after she left, a figure emerged from behind the hotel wall.

Seeing that Lingmeng was already gone, the person hurried after her.

"Oh? Looks like some clingy little thing has taken a liking to me."

Walking down the street, Lingmeng narrowed her eyes and smiled. She had noticed her pursuer long ago.

Is she a stalker or something else? Well, whatever.

Lingmeng had no idea why the woman kept following her, but she decided to play along. She was bored out of her mind anyway.

"Let's see if you can keep up with this."

Her expression sharpened, and she launched into some tricky parkour through the crowd.

Her pursuer rose to the challenge. Moments later, she raced after Lingmeng at a pace only slightly slower than hers.

"Wow, she's good. I'm running this fast and she can still keep up? Even a world champion couldn't do much better."

Lingmeng was surprised to find the woman still hot on her heels. Anyone who could keep up with a Spirit was no ordinary person.

"I'm getting bored. Time to end this little chase." Lingmeng yawned as she ran.

She had clearly had enough of this "catch me if you can, and you'll get a little something" game.

Spotting an alley ahead, Lingmeng darted into it without a word. The woman followed close behind.

"What? Where is she?" The woman entered the alley, only to find Lingmeng nowhere in sight.

"I definitely saw her come in here." She shook her head in confusion.

"Hey, why have you been following me?" Lingmeng suddenly appeared behind her and whispered into her ear.

Lingmeng had wrapped her left arm around the woman and pressed two fingers of her right hand against her temple like a gun, a wicked smile on her face.

"Ling... Lingmeng, it's me!" the woman said.

"Huh?" Lingmeng froze at the sound of her voice. She recognized it.

The woman took advantage of Lingmeng's surprise to slip free and turn around.

Only then did Lingmeng realize that the person who had been following her was none other than her friend Tohka Yatogami—

"Tohka? What are you doing here?"

Lingmeng stared at Tohka in surprise, though her expression soon returned to normal. Come to think of it, apart from Wizards, only another Spirit could have kept up with her.

"I just wanted to talk to you, Lingmeng..."

"About what?" Lingmeng asked, puzzled.

"I..." Tohka was about to speak when her stomach suddenly growled.

Grrr... Tohka put a hand on her stomach and lowered her head shyly.

Lingmeng's mouth twitched at the sight.

"Tohka, don't tell me you haven't eaten."

"Mm... I didn't know when you'd come out..." Tohka nodded, embarrassed.

"Ugh. Want me to buy you something to eat?" Lingmeng asked, rubbing her head helplessly.

"Huh? Really? ('.?ω?.｀)"

Tohka perked up at once.

"Yeah... But you'll have to hold back. I'm almost out of money..."

"Okay, I got it!"

"Then let's go..."

"Mmm—these buns are delicious!"

Lingmeng had brought Tohka to a steamed-bun shop. The moment they arrived, Tohka ordered more than a dozen buns and began wolfing them down.

"Ah, Tohka, that's enough. If you keep eating, I'll go broke." Lingmeng looked haggard as she glanced from Tohka's beaming face to her own wallet.

The instant she opened it, Lingmeng could almost see something flying away.

The God of Wealth: "This humble god bids you farewell."

"Wait! Don't go! Come back! (T ^ T)" Lingmeng wailed, tears streaming down her face.

"Ahh, I'm maybe sixty percent full." Tohka patted her stomach contentedly. "What's wrong, Lingmeng? You look like the world's about to end."

"Nothing. I'm just wondering how I'm supposed to survive the next few days on five hundred yen..."

Lingmeng stared at the single five-hundred-yen coin left in her wallet, devastated.

Damn it! How am I supposed to live on this? Do I really have to sell myself?

At that moment, Lingmeng desperately wished some kind soul would take her in. As long as they gave her food, a place to stay, and a little spending money, she would do anything!

"Anyway, Tohka... Didn't you have something you wanted to tell me? What was it...?"

Lingmeng asked with the face of someone whose soul had left her body.

"Oh, right, I remember now." Tohka nodded as if it had just come back to her. "Shido and Kotori told me everything. I had no idea you were a Spirit too, Lingmeng!"

"A what?" The bun shop owner looked over in confusion.

"Uh... Nothing. Please, carry on. We're leaving." Lingmeng awkwardly pulled Tohka into a deserted corner.

"Hey, Tohka, didn't Shido and Kotori tell you not to mention Spirits in front of outsiders?"

Lingmeng spoke to Tohka in agitation.

"I think they did, but I forgot." Tohka gave her an innocent smile.

"...That sounds like you." Lingmeng's mouth twitched. "There's no one here now. Go on."

"Mm!" Tohka's expression suddenly grew serious. "Lingmeng, I want you to go on a date with Shido!"

"...Why would you suddenly ask me that? Did Shido or Kotori put you up to it?"

"No. I came to find you on my own. Shido and Kotori had nothing to do with it..."

Tohka waved her hands as she hurried to explain.

"Shido seemed down yesterday, so I asked him about it, and he told me everything.

"I don't know why you refused to date Shido, but I know things must be hard for you. I know what it's like, because I felt the same way before Shido sealed my powers."

Well, in a way, life really is hard for me—both as a Spirit and as an ordinary girl.

Lingmeng glanced once more at her wallet, which couldn't possibly have been any flatter.