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

"That's wonderful! Come on in!"

Mikoto beamed and led Lingmeng and Shiori into the shrine.

... Time skip.

Before they knew it, evening had arrived.

For the past few hours, Lingmeng, Mikoto, and Shiori had done little more than chat about everyday things. Lingmeng hadn't expected it to get so late so quickly.

"Um... it's getting late, so we should go. Sorry, Mikoto."

Lingmeng and Shiori stood at the shrine entrance, saying goodbye to Mikoto.

Mikoto shook her head. "It's fine. Come visit again sometime."

"Well, I definitely will if I get the chance. See you!"

"Yeah... bye."

After saying goodbye, Lingmeng and Shiori walked away. Mikoto watched until they disappeared from sight.

Looking out at the now-empty street, Mikoto murmured,

"Those two really are interesting girls. Tsukuyomi, please protect them..."

Become a Girl!

The setting sun painted the ground red. In a small park high above Tengu City stood a beautiful girl who had been turned from a boy into a girl, and a boy who had willingly (?) put on girls' clothes to become a cute girl for her sake.

Well, to anyone else, they just looked like two ordinary girls.

"Ah, how many times have we come here now? Still, they rebuilt this place pretty fast. It was a wreck just a few days ago."

Looking around at the scenery, restored exactly as it had been, Lingmeng couldn't help feeling impressed.

After all, Tohka had gone berserk when Shido died and torn this place apart only days ago. Yet it had already been restored.

"Yeah. We have the Wizard Disaster Reconstruction Unit to thank for that," said Shiori Itsuka, the boy beside her, scratching his cheek.

"Seriously, putting it back together after all that damage? That's impressive."

The Wizard Disaster Reconstruction Unit was a team dedicated to clearing away the destruction left by battles between AST and Spirits and restoring the buildings.

In a way, they were far more effective at their job than AST was. No matter how badly a building had been damaged, they could usually restore it in no time.

Their repairs were practically magic. They made Lingmeng wonder if this world had invested in the wrong branch of technology.

The combat team's performance and the support team's were worlds apart!

Well, that was largely because Spirits were too strong to beat.

"Um... Lingmeng..." Shiori seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

"What is it? If you've got something to say, say it."

After giving it some thought, Shiori finally spoke.

"We've been on a date for quite a while today. Do you like me even a little more now?"

The moment Shiori said that, Lingmeng understood what he meant. He had phrased it tactfully, but he clearly wanted to seal her powers.

"Well... how do I put this..."

Lingmeng scratched her hair awkwardly, then held up her right thumb and forefinger a tiny distance apart.

"I hate to admit it, but today did get me a little—okay, a lot—interested in you dressed as a girl. I like you this way much more than when you dress as a boy."

Lingmeng had spoken her mind. It was embarrassing to admit, but Shiori had bent her preferences just a tiny bit today. A tiny bit the size of the universe.

After all, Shiori was so cute. He might still be a boy underneath, but Lingmeng was very much into it.

So much for 'I'm not interested because you're a boy.' Apparently I just like pretty people.

After her date with Shiori, Lingmeng finally admitted what she had refused to believe: looks mattered to her.

"Really?"

Shiori was delighted that his efforts today had paid off.

He hadn't thrown away his dignity and dressed up for this date for nothing. It had all been worth it.

With that thought, Shiori spoke again.

"Then... Lingmeng, will you let me seal your powers?"

"Well, I'm not against it, but I have one little condition. If you can't meet it, I'm afraid I still won't be able to let you seal them."

"Huh? What condition? I'll do it!"

Shiori hesitated for a moment, then answered without reservation. If it meant he could seal Lingmeng's powers, he would even cut off a piece of himself.

Lingmeng narrowed her eyes at his eagerness and gave him a mysterious smile.

"That's what I wanted to hear! My condition is..."

"Yes?"

Lingmeng smiled like a devil. "Go to Thailand, get sex reassignment surgery, and become a girl!"

"Huh?" Shiori froze, then the words sank in. "Whaaaaaat?! d(OдO?)"

Honestly, Shiori had never imagined Lingmeng would say anything like that.

Who could have expected the person he was dating to suddenly ask him to change his sex?!

"L-Lingmeng, you're joking, right?"

Clinging to that slim hope, Shiori broke into a cold sweat.

In a sense, Lingmeng's demand really would require him to cut off a piece of himself. But why did it have to be that piece?!

Lingmeng merely put on a serious expression.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Uh... no..."

"There you go."

"But why would you suddenly ask me to do that?"

Seeing Shiori's reluctance, Lingmeng sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I know it's a lot to spring on you, Shiori, but I still want you to become a real girl.

"It's true that I like you almost enough for you to seal my powers now. But one thing still bothers me: you're a man.

"Once you win me over, you'll go back to being Shido, right? So instead of that, why not go all the way and become a girl for real?

"Don't worry, I'm not a monster or anything (^ω^). If you become a real girl, I guarantee my affection for you will shoot straight to the maximum!"

"Ah... well..."

Shiori felt like crying. After all that, it had come back to what Kotori had said: he needed to change his sex completely?

"Don't worry about having trouble adjusting to life as a girl, Shiori. It's a little embarrassing to say, but I've been through it myself! If there's anything you don't understand about being a woman, just ask me!"

Lingmeng quickly noticed his distress. She placed both hands on his shoulders and tried to reassure him.

"Besides, with your personality, you'd already be a girl if you weren't a boy. You're so kind, cute, domestic, gentle, and capable! Even among girls, someone like you is rare."

"That's not what I'm worried about at all..."

Shiori's mouth twitched. Lingmeng seemed to have misunderstood him. Still, he soon began thinking it over.

Should he give up life as a man to win Lingmeng over and live on as Shiori Itsuka?

Or should he refuse her, remain a man, and go back to his old life?

Under ordinary circumstances, he would have chosen the latter without hesitation.

But these weren't ordinary circumstances, and he had no idea what to do.

Argh, this is so hard! What am I supposed to do? (╥ω╥`)

Three of the World's Top Five Wizards?

"I'm sorry, Lingmeng. I can't agree to that. I can handle dressing as a girl once in a while, but I really can't agree to changing my sex."

After thinking it through, Shiori shook his head.

Lingmeng looked as though she had expected that answer and gave him a rueful smile.

"Haha... I was just saying it. Don't worry about it. Like I said, I've been through it myself. I know how awful it feels to go from being a boy to being a girl.

"I wouldn't force you to do something I don't like myself. Still, it's a shame someone with your perfect wife-like qualities isn't actually a girl. You're just my type in every other way..."

"Uh... am I?" Shiori laughed awkwardly, then asked, "What about sealing your powers?"

"Well, let's think of something else later. If we put our minds to it, we'll find a way."

Lingmeng shrugged helplessly, and the air suddenly felt heavy.

"Lingmeng..."

Seeing her like that, Shiori seemed about to say something more.

But at that moment, a massive laser shot down from the sky—

Whoosh! It came at them at incredible speed, screeching as it tore through the air.

"Lingmeng! Behind you!"

Sensing the danger, Shiori shouted. Then, as the beam was about to hit them, he instinctively shut his eyes.

Click—

The next instant, a clockwork sound rang out. And then... nothing.

When Shiori felt no impact, he timidly opened his eyes.

The beam hung motionless in midair. At some point, Lingmeng had summoned her angel and Astral Dress.

"Lingmeng... what is this?" Shiori asked faintly.

"Someone just attacked us. Don't worry, though. I stopped the beam's time with my power."

Lingmeng kept her eyes on the beam as she explained.

Then she glared at it, and it vanished.

"Whoever attacked us should be nearby, right?"

Lingmeng looked around, then closed her eyes. A wave of psychic energy spread from her.

The technique was called Mind Detection. Like a radar, it could help her find whatever she sought.

Found you!

Lingmeng smiled to herself.

She swung the Elemental Spirit hard. In the next instant, a woman in powered armor appeared before her with a swish.

"Huh? (#?Д?)"

The armored woman looked stunned, apparently unable to work out what had happened.

Before she could react, Lingmeng slammed her hard into the ground. The force knocked her unconscious.

"Lingmeng, is this woman from AST?"

Seeing the woman's powered armor, Shiori naturally assumed she was with AST.

"No. She isn't with AST. They might be reckless, but they wouldn't attack while ignoring an uninvolved bystander like you."

Lingmeng frowned as she explained.

As far as she knew, AST would never put ordinary people in danger. And while this woman was indeed wearing a Realizer, it wasn't one of AST's mass-produced CR-UNITs. It looked like a more advanced model.