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

"Mm... We'll be going, then." Shido bowed to the staff member and left with Lingmeng.

"Well, that was a miscalculation. I didn't expect Lingmeng to have a little scheme of her own."

Aboard Fraxinus, Kotori looked utterly taken aback before continuing.

"Shido, judging by how things are going, rides that aren't even a little scary won't work on Lingmeng. Take her to the Roller Coaster and see what happens."

As Kotori picked up the microphone and gave Shido his orders, the male crew members perked up.

Their faces seemed to say, "See? Option one was the right choice after all." The female crew members shot them furious looks.

"Got it." Shido glanced at Lingmeng beside him and said awkwardly, "Lingmeng, how about we ride the Roller Coaster next?"

An Endless Loop of Roller Coasters and Drop Towers

Does Shido think I'm scared of Roller Coasters and want to use this chance to win me over? Me, the legendary racer of Mount Akina, scared of this?

Lingmeng seemed to have caught on to Shido's intentions.

Honestly, back in her previous life, Lingmeng might really have been a little scared of Roller Coasters.

But Lingmeng was a Spirit now. If she wanted to, she could run faster than a Roller Coaster. A mere Roller Coaster was nothing to fear. She was feeling rather cocky about it.

"A Roller Coaster? Sure." Lingmeng smiled with her eyes half-lidded, then followed Shido toward the ticket booth.

Click. Lingmeng and Shido were seated on the Roller Coaster. Perhaps they were lucky: they had gotten seats in the very front row.

Once the safety bars had locked into place, the Roller Coaster started moving to the beat of music that sounded like "Deja Vu."

The first minute or so was fine. They simply climbed a slope. But the moment they reached the top, the coaster plunged straight down as though it had been shot full of adrenaline.

"Aaaaaah!" Screams rose from behind Shido and Lingmeng, mostly from women, though a few men joined in.

Some couples farther back held hands on the speeding Roller Coaster to make themselves less afraid.

"Shido, Lingmeng must be at least a little scared right now. Find a chance to take her hand and make her feel like you'll be right there beside her. Her affection for you will definitely go up."

Kotori's voice came through his earpiece. Shido acknowledged her and looked toward Lingmeng. With the coaster moving so fast, he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Lingmeng..." Shido forced his eyes open to see whether she looked frightened, only to find her perfectly calm. There was not a trace of panic on her face.

What was more, Lingmeng's eyes were closed, her head was bowed, and she was snoring softly in a steady rhythm. She was, without question, asleep.

"Um... Kotori, I think Lingmeng's fallen asleep..."

Shido told Kotori, sweating.

"What?! Is she deaf or something?! How can she sleep in a place like that?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴"

In the commander's seat aboard Fraxinus, Kotori bit straight through the Chupa Chups in her mouth when she heard him and burst out in exasperation.

"There's nothing I can do about it." Shido could only give a helpless, wry smile.

The Roller Coaster pulled into the station before long. Its stopping noise rang like an alarm clock, waking Lingmeng.

"Huh? We're already back?" Lingmeng looked around in surprise.

"You only just noticed?" Shido stared at her, speechless.

"Shido, get back on that Roller Coaster with Lingmeng!" Kotori snatched up the microphone and barked the order.

"Isn't that going a bit far?" Shido looked troubled.

"Cut the excuses. Unless you want more people to hear about your embarrassing past, do as I say!"

"All right..."

Shido lowered his head in resignation. It seemed his little sister was determined to go head-to-head with Lingmeng.

Scratching his cheek, Shido asked awkwardly, "Lingmeng... Could we ride it again?"

"Uh... Sure." Lingmeng nodded, baffled.

Didn't you just tell me we shouldn't keep riding the same thing? Why are you going back on your own words now?

With that thought, Lingmeng rode the Roller Coaster with Shido again. She did not fall asleep this time, but she remained as unflappable as ever, leaving Shido no opening.

And just like that, the Roller Coaster reached the station again.

"Kotori..."

"Ride it again! Keep riding until you manage to hold her hand!"

Kotori cut Shido off before he could finish.

"Got it..." Shido replied with a complicated expression, then invited Lingmeng aboard once more.

And so, for more than an hour, Shido repeated that hellish ride. The result was the same every time: Lingmeng showed no reaction at all, while Shido was close to his limit.

"Hey, Shido. Looks like the Roller Coaster doesn't work on Lingmeng."

Kotori's voice came through his earpiece. Shido thought she was finally letting him off the hook, but her next words dragged him straight back into hell.

"Take Lingmeng to the drop tower and try that."

"Pfft—!" Shido clutched his chest, nearly coughing up blood. No matter how badly he wanted to refuse, he still had to obey.

Another hour passed. Shido had finally escaped the torment of the Roller Coaster and drop tower. He led Lingmeng to a trash can beside a bench and started throwing up.

"Urgh... Urgh..."

Lingmeng watched him and shrugged helplessly. "You were clearly at your limit. Why did you keep riding them? Do you have a death wish?"

"Ah... Sorry." Shido wiped his mouth with a tissue, looking haggard.

Shido swore that once today was over, he would not go near either of those inhuman contraptions—the Roller Coaster or the drop tower—for months. Absolutely not!

"Well, maybe playing something else would help take your mind off it?"

"What do you think we should try, Lingmeng?"

Shido thought she had a point, so he asked her.

"Let's see..." Lingmeng was still trying to decide when a scream interrupted her.

Lingmeng and Shido looked toward the sound and spotted someone bungee jumping nearby.

"Hey, Shido. I think I know what we should do."

Lingmeng turned to Shido as she watched the bungee jumpers.

"Lingmeng, you're not thinking of making me..." Shido asked, breaking into a sweat.

"That's exaaactly right." Lingmeng gave him a mischievous grin. A moment later, the two of them were up on the bungee platform.

"Lingmeng... Are you sure you want me to bungee jump...?"

A staff member had already secured Shido's legs with a thick rubber cord. Standing on the jumping platform, he glanced down, then spoke with a dark look on his face.

To be honest, Shido was somewhat afraid of bungee jumping. The thought of plummeting from that height made his stomach churn.

He was reluctant to try it even on an ordinary day, let alone now, when the Roller Coaster and drop tower had left him exhausted in body and mind.

"Relax. Even if something goes wrong, I'll save you. Besides, you're trying to win me over, right? If you jump like a real man, I might like you more."

Lingmeng waved a hand casually and gave Shido a wicked grin.

Go to Hell, Vending Machine!

"Hey, Shido. If you want to win her over, stop hesitating and jump."

Kotori's voice came through his earpiece. Hearing his own little sister say something so heartless left Shido with mixed feelings.

"Hey, I'm your brother. Wouldn't you be upset if something happened to me?"

Shido spoke quietly. Kotori replied without a hint of concern.

"What are you afraid of? Didn't Lingmeng just say she'd protect you? With the strongest Spirit beside you, you wouldn't die from a fall. You might even survive a nuclear bomb."

"Uh..." Shido paused. Thinking about it, Kotori did have a point. With Lingmeng watching over him, he would be perfectly safe.

That may be true... but I'm still a little scared. ⊙﹏⊙

Shido looked down again, sweating.

"Come on, Shido, don't be scared. It's only a game."

Lingmeng patted his shoulder encouragingly.

"Lingmeng..."

"Listen to me. Games are meant to be fun. Come on, give me a smile."

Lingmeng smiled and motioned for Shido to do the same.

Shido's face stiffened as he managed a strained smile. "Ha... haha..."

"That's it! You can do it! Let's go!"

"Huh?!"

After that stirring speech, Lingmeng turned Shido around herself and kicked him off the platform.

"Aaaaaaaaaah! |?Д?)))" Shido let out a wail as he plummeted. He had never imagined Lingmeng would simply kick him off.

"Remember to have fun, Shido!"

"Fun, my ass! Aaaaaaaaaah!"

After calling down to the falling Shido, Lingmeng looked at the staff member beside her.

"Is this equipment definitely safe?"

"Don't worry, miss. This attraction has been open for years, and we've never had an accident."

The staff member rubbed his hands together and answered with a smile.

"I see..."

Well, if nothing's gone wrong in all these years, I probably don't need to keep an eye on him, right?

Just as Lingmeng thought that, the rubber cord attached to Shido's legs snapped with a sharp crack...

"Aaaaaah! Lingmeng, help!" Shido screamed again when he realized the cord had broken.

"..."

"Hah... hah... That scared me half to death. The safety cord just snapped! How terrifying is that?"

Shido sat on a bench, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. Perhaps because he had nearly died, his face had a sickly green tinge, and his legs were still trembling.

"I know, right? He confidently promised me there'd be no problem, and then something went wrong the very next second. How unreliable can you get?"

Lingmeng leaned back against the bench and spread her hands in annoyance.

Just as Shido was about to fall, Lingmeng had used her powers to bring him straight back to her side. If she had been even a little slower, he might have been reduced to a puddle of flesh.

Of course, Lingmeng had also erased the staff member's memory of seeing her use her powers. It would be a problem if ordinary people found out about her.

Oddly enough, when Lingmeng altered his memory, she discovered that the equipment really had gone years without an accident. It had failed right after she asked about it. She did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Ah... I guess someone like me only brings disaster to other people..."

Lingmeng muttered darkly.

"What disaster?" Shido asked, apparently not having caught what she said.

"N-no, it's nothing. I'm a little thirsty. I'm going to buy a drink."

Lingmeng hastily tried to cover it up. She pointed to a nearby vending machine, hoping to change the subject.

With that, Lingmeng ran straight toward the vending machine.