I Refuse to Date After Becoming a Spirit in Date A Live

"...I don't know what happened. It suddenly stopped working. I haven't told anyone else yet. It was terrifying. What was that thing?"

Reine knew the Doll was probably a DEM product, but she didn't want Origami to suspect anything.

So she deliberately acted shaken.

Origami looked surprised at first, then said,

"Teacher, please forget everything you saw."

"...Right. Spreading the word would cause trouble, wouldn't it? I understand."

Origami couldn't shake the feeling that Reine's performance was a little too perfect.

She hadn't seemed particularly surprised when she saw the Doll, either, as though she'd already known about Realizers.

But Origami had no time to dwell on that. Right now, Shido's safety worried her most.

"Please make sure you do. And is Shido all right?"

Reine scratched her cheek and answered,

"...The wind outside has stopped. They contacted me just now, too. I don't think they ran into any danger. You, though, need to rest and recover."

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing that Shido seemed to be safe, Origami let out a breath of relief.

Then she clenched her fist in frustration and struck the bed, her face twisted with resentment.

Just one blow—and an ordinary one, without any weapon.

Her opponent hadn't been a Spirit. A single blow from a mere Doll had hurt Origami this badly.

Without a Realizer, she was nothing but a pitiful human.

Weak and helpless.

She had survived by sheer luck. If that Doll hadn't suddenly malfunctioned, it would have killed both her and Reine.

Origami gritted her teeth until she tasted blood.

"Power..."

"...Hm?"

Reine tilted her head, puzzled by the word Origami had suddenly spoken.

Origami repeated herself.

"I want to become stronger... Strong enough to protect Shido without relying on any equipment..."

"...Power?"

Reine gently closed her eyes and murmured the word