Chapter 7

"Lingmeng... I think we should avoid that phone store from now on."

Shido watched the cheerful Lingmeng beside him and spoke with an awkward smile.

"Huh? Why?" Lingmeng asked, puzzled.

"I still can't forget the look on the owner's face when we left. He looked ready to charge over and punch me. I'd be too embarrassed to shop there again. ≥﹏≤"

Thinking back, Shido could almost hear the owner saying, "Kid, get your girlfriend out of here! I don't want your business!"

But he couldn't blame the owner entirely. If Shido had to deal with a customer like Lingmeng, he probably would have lost his temper too.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're still so young, Shido. A little thing like that scared you?"

Lingmeng wagged a finger at him, teasing.

"You don't look any older than me. If anything, you look younger."

Seeing her put on a mature air, Shido couldn't help pointing it out.

"...Haha, fair point." After a moment's silence, Lingmeng laughed awkwardly. She had forgotten that although she really was twenty-four, that had been in her previous life. Now, no matter how anyone looked at her, she was a girl of about sixteen.

"Well, as long as you're happy." Shido shrugged. "Is there anywhere else you want to go?"

"Oh, I'm easy! I've got my phone, so I'll leave wherever we go next up to you!"

Lingmeng answered lightly, handing him complete control of the itinerary.

"Uh... Then... how about we start at the plaza?"

"Mm-hmm, your call. Let's go!"

Before they knew it, evening had arrived. Shido had taken Lingmeng around to every place in Tengu City worth visiting.

He had only planned to look around for a bit before heading home, but he hadn't expected to get so caught up in it. They had kept wandering until it was this late.

Kotori's going to be angry when I get home this late, isn't she?

Shido stopped in his tracks and began imagining how his adorable little sister would react when he returned.

To his surprise, though, Lingmeng hadn't dawdled over the rest of their outing the way she had at the phone store. She took a quick look at each attraction before moving on to the next, which made things much easier for him.

The evening sun cast its glow across the ground. Shido and Lingmeng were alone in a park in Tengu City.

"Thanks, Shido. I appreciate you being my free tour guide today."

Lingmeng stretched, turned to him, and smiled.

"...Yeah, you're welcome," Shido replied, his face red.

"Oh? You're blushing. Did my stunning looks make your heart skip a beat?"

Seeing how red he was, Lingmeng teased him again.

Having been a man in her previous life, Lingmeng had a pretty good idea what Shido was thinking. She decided to use that to toy with him a little. She was a girl now, after all; as long as she didn't go too far, she could have her fun.

"Any normal guy would feel something when he saw a girl as cute as you! Stop teasing me!"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lingmeng waved a hand, then muttered too quietly for Shido to hear, "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have become a girl at all!"

Lingmeng walked to a vending machine, fed in the last of her change, and pressed a couple of buttons at random.

Clunk, clunk! Two cans of cola dropped into the dispenser slot.

"Hey, Shido, this one's yours!" Lingmeng tossed him a can. "It's nothing expensive, but consider it a thank-you gift."

"...Thanks!" The chill of the can against his hand finally eased some of the blush from Shido's face.

Pop! They pulled open their cans at the same time. Lingmeng stepped beside him and smiled. "Come on. A toast to our friendship!"

"Yeah, to friendship!" Shido said with a smile.

They gently tapped their cans together and began to drink.

"Ahh, that hit the spot! Nothing beats a cola!"

Lingmeng drained her can and sighed like an old man savoring a drink.

"Cola?" Shido looked utterly baffled by the odd way she had described it.

"Oh, come on—it's just another name for cola! Tons of homebodies in China love drinking it. Don't you think it fits?"

"Does it?" Shido muttered, looking at the can in his hand.

"Well, it's getting late. Someone's probably waiting for you at home, right? I should get going too. Bye, my friend! Maybe we'll meet again someday!"

"Yeah... Goodbye, Lingmeng."

Lingmeng threw her empty can into a trash bin, waved to Shido, and strode away.

Shido finished his cola and tossed the can into the bin too. Then he picked up the bag containing Yunnan Baiyao and Chupa Chups and spoke with a sigh of relief.

"Time to head home. Kotori's probably waiting for me."

"I'm home!" Back at his house, Shido changed his shoes and headed into the living room.

"Welcome home, big brother!" A little girl of around thirteen, with red hair tied into twin tails by white ribbons, ran from the sofa and hugged him.

Shido smiled and patted her head.

This was Kotori Itsuka, Shido's adorable little sister. If she hadn't asked her big brother to buy Chupa Chups today, he would never have met Lingmeng.

"Why are you back so late, big brother? Buying one thing shouldn't take that long!" Kotori puffed out her cheeks, looking a little upset. "What's in that bag? Wait, what happened to your face? Did someone hit you?"

She seemed to have noticed both the bag in Shido's hand and the bruises on his face, and her voice grew anxious.

"It's nothing. A few things happened, that's all." Not wanting his little sister to worry, Shido told Kotori everything that had happened that day.

"Oh! You stood up for a girl you didn't even know? That's my big brother! ('.?ω?.｀)"

After hearing Shido's explanation, Kotori nodded in understanding and spoke proudly.

"All right, enough about that. Here are your Chupa Chups."

Shido handed Kotori the bag of Chupa Chups. After warning her not to eat too many, he went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Meanwhile, Lingmeng floated above Tengu City, looking down at the whole city.

"Tengu City, huh? It really is a nice place. I'll come back if I get the chance!"

After murmuring those words, Lingmeng vanished into the darkness...

The Strongest Wizard ### "Wooo... Wooo... Wooo... Wooo... Wooo..."

The Spacequake alarm sounded. Once everyone on the streets had fled to the shelters, the Spacequake arrived right on cue—

A violent explosion ripped through the area, instantly gouging a huge crater in what had been a level street. None of the surrounding buildings escaped damage. It looked like something out of a science-fiction film, as though a meteor had struck Earth.

Qian Lingmeng, the direct cause of it all, stood at the center of the blast and surveyed the scene.

A week had passed since she parted ways with the boy named Shido Itsuka. Lingmeng had left that brief spell of peace behind and returned to her trouble-filled daily life.

"Is this... the United Kingdom?"

From the distinctly European architecture around her and the English covering a shattered billboard, Lingmeng had a good idea where she was.

"If things go the way they usually do, those people should be here any moment."

She looked toward the distant sky. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the SSS arrived, flying in their mechanical suits.

(Note: The SSS was the United Kingdom's equivalent of the AST.)

"Is that Element Maker?"

A woman who appeared to be their leader spotted Lingmeng on the ground and spoke her Identification Code.

"Everyone, follow my orders. According to our records, this one doesn't attack humans. If we work together, we can definitely take her down!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The girls answered, ready for battle.

"On my command! Three! Two! One! Charge!"

The captain swept her hand toward Lingmeng. At her order, the SSS members raised their Light Swords and machine guns and launched a fierce assault...

"Well, I'll say this up front: my patience with you doesn't give you the right to walk all over me!"

Lingmeng stood amid the gunfire, her eyes half-lidded. Then she shouted, "Come forth! Elemental Spirit!"

Having summoned her "strongest spear," Lingmeng began her battle...

Meanwhile, at DEM headquarters, Isaac lounged on a sofa as usual, sipping coffee.

Beside him, Ellen, the World's Strongest Wizard, stood perfectly straight and watched him without a word.

"Ahh... All that gunfire. Has a Spirit appeared?"

Hearing the intense gunfire in the distance, Isaac set down his coffee, stretched, and asked his question.

"Yes. According to the information we just received, the Spirit that appeared this time is..."

"Element Maker, right?"

Before Ellen could finish, Isaac supplied the answer with a smile.

"...Yes."

Being interrupted irritated her, but he was her boss, so Ellen held her tongue.

"I remember you saying you wanted to test yourself against Element Maker if you got the chance. Go on, then! Consider it a temporary assignment from me."

Isaac waved a hand, giving Ellen permission to leave.

"Then please excuse me for a while!"

"Haha, now that's quite a look! Show me what the strongest can do!"

Seeing the murderous look in Ellen's eyes, Isaac couldn't help laughing.

"No problem. Just wait here for me to bring back her head!"

With that, Ellen turned to leave.

"Actually, if possible, I'd rather you capture her alive. I wouldn't mind having another Material B."

Isaac offered the reminder just as Ellen opened the door.

To Ellen, "if possible" didn't mean she had a choice. He wanted the Spirit alive.

"...All right. I'll do my best." Ellen nodded reluctantly. "As long as she's alive, it doesn't matter if she loses her limbs, does it?"

"That's up to you!" Isaac shrugged, looking perfectly at ease.

"Understood!" With that, Ellen stormed out through the door.

"Damn it... How is she so strong?"

The SSS members lay sprawled on the ground, glaring furiously at Lingmeng, who sat at ease atop the rubble.

They couldn't believe Lingmeng had taken them all down in less than a minute. Nothing like this had ever happened to them before.

Even when they lost quickly against other Spirits, they had always lasted at least ten minutes or so. Today they hadn't even made it to one. Their confidence had taken a serious blow.

"Don't look so upset. I hate to say it, but if any Spirit really wanted to fight you, you wouldn't be much better off than you are now."

Lingmeng sighed helplessly.

It would hurt their confidence, but what she said was true.

As a Spirit herself, Lingmeng knew better than anyone how powerful Spirits were. She couldn't promise the others were all as strong as she was, but it wasn't impossible for them to defeat the SSS in a matter of minutes too.

"...Is that so?"