Chapter 66

Her face was not visible; to be precise, it was because the large cloak decorated with rabbit ears completely covered her head.

And what's most striking is her left hand. She's wearing a rather comical-looking rabbit-shaped hand puppet on her left hand.

The girl's clothing was indeed as peculiar as described above.

"What?"

Shido muttered something to himself.

"Why would a young girl be playing alone in the rain at a Shrine?" and "Why is she dressed so strangely?"

Such questions kept echoing in my mind.

However, what caught his attention even more was the incredible aura emanating from the girl.

How should I put it? It seems that Shido had a similar experience a few times not long ago.

It was probably like the feeling I had when I first met Tohka and Lingmeng, before I sealed their powers.

Meanwhile, Lingmeng was also staring intently at the girl.

The main reason is the same as Shido's: even though he has never met her before, he has a strange sense of familiarity with her.

If I had to use an analogy, it would be like the feeling of "like attracts like".

Then--

While Shido and Lingmeng were still intently watching the girl dancing lightly in the cold raindrops...

Suddenly, with a "thud," the girl slipped and fell to the ground.

Incidentally, the rabbit plush toy that was originally on her left hand also flew off as a result.

"Hey, hey--you slipped and fell?"

Muttering something softly, Lingmeng disregarded the heavy rain and ran straight towards the little girl.

Shido then said, "Wait for me," and followed closely behind.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Gently helping the girl who had fallen to the ground, Lingmeng asked with concern.

Because they were viewing her up close, Lingmeng and Shido could now see the girl's face very clearly.

She looked to be about the same age as Shido's younger sister, Kotori, and was quite petite.

Her hair was light and flowing, as blue as the sea. Her soft lips were cherry blossom color; she was a beautiful young girl, much like a France doll.

"...!"

Then the girl opened her eyes, revealing a pair of sapphire-blue eyes.

Clearly, this girl is a typical loli, both in appearance and physique.

When Lingmeng suddenly froze.

Then--

"Wow! It's a little girl! Come here! Let me rub against her! (≧?≦)"

Without waiting for the girl's consent, Lingmeng took it upon herself to pull her into her arms and rub her face against her body.

"Huh!"

The girl seemed startled by Lingmeng's sudden action, and let out a fearful groan.

"Lingmeng, why are you suddenly doing this to this girl?!"

Seeing Lingmeng rubbing against the girl with a perverted smile, Shido remarked from the side.

Then, whether it was Shido's sudden loud voice or Lingmeng's overly intimate and excited manner that startled him, he was unsure.

The girl's face turned pale, her eyes flickered, and then she broke free from Lingmeng's restraints and took several steps back.

Then, as they created some distance between them, the girl began to tremble all over, looking at Shido and Lingmeng with fear in her eyes.

She looked just like a frightened little rabbit.

"Oh dear—am I being rejected?"

Lingmeng remained holding the girl, then stared blankly at her now empty arms.

"Hey, it's normal for someone to react like that when you suddenly hug someone like a creepy old man!"

Shido's lips twitched slightly. He didn't know what to say to Lingmeng, who seemed completely unaware of what she had done.

"Zhongsheng (laughs): "When you heard about the Shrine, did you think that Sister Mei would make an appearance? Actually, I quite like writing cameos like this, but I think it's better to ask the author about this, so I didn't write it."

The reason I included the senior students last time was because I wanted to give Lingmeng some interesting material, so I wrote that. If you guys are interested, I'll contact the author again when I have the chance, and if they agree, I'll write it again."

Chapter Ten Rabbit Doll

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I'm completely powerless against cute girls, and I just couldn't resist..."

Lingmeng scratched her head apologetically and smiled.

To be honest, deep down, being an otaku, she has a mysterious fondness for cute creatures like lolis.

So when she saw that the other person was a cute little girl, she did it without thinking.

"What a lame excuse!"

Lingmeng with utter exasperation, his Shido a mask of black lines.

However, at the same time, she was also thinking to herself, "Judging from her size and age, Kotori is a loli, so why doesn't Lingmeng like that when she sees her?"

(Meanwhile, Kotori at home felt inexplicably unhappy.)

Well, actually, it's mainly because Kotori is usually in Commander Mode, so Lingmeng doesn't have a good chance of making a move.

"Oh right, I need to apologize."

After muttering something to herself, Lingmeng turned her gaze to the girl in front of her who was trembling all over.

"Um... I'm sorry..."

Lingmeng scratched her cheek and sincerely apologized.

After all, touching someone's body without permission is a rash act, so she had to apologize.

Then--

"... Please... don't... come... close... to... me...!"

Just as Lingmeng was about to step forward to help the girl up, the girl showed a timid expression and said...

"Huh?"

Lingmeng tilted her head in confusion. Even if she had gone too far just now, was it really necessary to react like this?

"Please... don't... hurt me..."

The girl looked like she was about to cry, and spoke again.

"Tsk, I feel like I'm some kind of creepy uncle trying to abduct a little girl."

Seeing the girl trembling like a small animal, a sense of guilt welled up inside Lingmeng for some reason.

Just then, Shido picked up the rabbit hand puppet that had just fallen to the ground and asked in a questioning tone.

"Um... is this yours?"

"...!"

Suddenly, the girl's eyes widened. She was about to step forward to take the puppet back, but then she suddenly stopped.

"Haha, it seems she's probably scared of your sour face Shido?"

Seeing the girl's expression of wanting to take back the puppet but being afraid of Shido, Lingmeng laughed heartlessly.

How should I put it? I felt much better instantly.

Based on the current situation, it seems the girl isn't targeting him personally, but rather is simply shy.

"No, that's not it! She's just naturally shy, isn't she?"

Lingmeng's gloating voice reached his eardrums, Shido vented his dissatisfaction. While his face certainly wasn't exactly friendly, it wasn't frightening, was it?

"Huh!"

Perhaps it was Shido's sudden shout that made the girl's already uneasy expression turn even more frightened.

"Forehead..."

Seemingly realizing he had been somewhat out of line, Shido awkwardly scratched his cheek.

Then, to ease the awkwardness, he extended the hand holding the puppet toward the girl and remained in that position.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Shido gave what he considered his most amiable smile and said this.

"..."

A few seconds passed, and the girl understood Shido's intention. So she carefully and slowly walked forward and began to approach him.

(No way? It actually worked?)

Lingmeng looked at the girl in surprise, who seemed to have let her guard down. She had just looked scared, so how could she dare to approach Shido now?

Am I really less charismatic than Shido?

With this in mind, Lingmeng ultimately attributed it to Shido having the Protagonist's halo.

Then, after taking the puppet back from Shido, the girl quickly put it back on her left hand.

So, under the girl's control, the puppet's mouth began to move.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, you two, you've been a great help."

It was unclear whether the voice belonged to a rabbit doll or a young girl, but it sounded extremely shrill.

However, both Lingmeng and Shido saw that the girl's lips did not move, so they subconsciously assumed that the girl was speaking to them using ventriloquism.

Shido and Lingmeng both looked at the girl and the Doll in her hand with surprise. But the Doll continued to speak as if it didn't care at all.

"Oh~ Although you were trying to help us, it seems you did something very rude to us, beautiful big sister. Could it be that you're a lolicon?"

The puppet glanced at Lingmeng beside her and began to speak, its mouth opening and closing.

Lingmeng didn't refute this, but simply waved her hands excitedly in response.

"Yeah! Lolis are the best!"

"You're such an honest older sister. But if you try anything funny with us, you'll face a minimum of three years and a maximum of the death penalty."

"No, no, no! It should be 'Three years of blood money, a death sentence is well deserved'!"

Lingmeng gently shook her index finger, without wavering at all.

Well, although that's what she says, Lingmeng doesn't actually have that kind of courage.

"Oh ho ho."

It let out another piercing laugh, the puppet looking quite excited.

"Pretty sister, you're really funny! Yoshino likes you a lot, so let's just forget about what happened earlier! As for you, big brother..."

As she spoke, the puppet shifted the conversation to Shido.

"Um... what's wrong?"

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Shido's forehead.

"Haha, it's nothing, just like this lady. When you rescued her, you seemed to have touched many parts of Yoshino's body as well. Honestly, how did it feel?"

"What?"

Completely stumped by the question, Shido looked utterly bewildered.

"You're still pretending to be stupid! You can't fool me~ You pervert. Oh well, you did help us, so consider this a special service for you!"

The puppet waved its arms and burst into laughter.