"So that's what happened...?"
Shido smiled awkwardly.
Still, this was a good thing. If Mana had remained a DEM employee, they would inevitably have clashed with her sooner or later.
Now that she had joined their side, they no longer had to worry about that. They had even gained a powerful ally.
"So, did you contact us about something?"
Shido asked.
Mana answered in a serious tone.
"We have a big problem. Their names were Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru, right? That woman Ellen has captured all three of them."
"Ahaha... Kurumi just told us about that."
Shido scratched his cheek awkwardly.
A moment later, they could clearly hear Mana growing agitated through the earphones.
"Is that Nightmare with you!?"
Her voice was so loud that Lingmeng's and Shido's ears hurt.
"Calm down, Mana..."
"How am I supposed to calm down!? That Worst Spirit, who kills without batting an eye, is right beside my brother!"
Mana's voice completely drowned out Shido's.
As though trying to reassure her, Lingmeng spoke up.
"Relax, relax. Don't forget that I'm here with Shido too."
"That's true..."
Having calmed down a little, Mana continued.
"Lingmeng, could you hand the earphones to Nightmare?"
"Sure, no problem."
Lingmeng took off the earphones and handed them to Kurumi.
"Here. Mana wants to talk to you."
"My, my. What a surprise."
Kurumi smiled, then put on the earphones.
"Hello~ How do you do, Miss Mana? It's been a while. Have your injuries healed yet?"
Her very first words were barbed.
Mana frowned slightly at that.
"I only lost last time because I let my guard down. The next time we meet, I'll pay you back twice over. If you're still planning to lay a hand on my brother, I wouldn't mind cutting your head off right now."
"Heeheehee, I'm so