Chapter 75

Seemingly noticing Shido's gaze, Lingmeng smiled.

"You'd better go flirt with the new elf girl. Don't worry about us."

Having long known Shido's mission, Lingmeng naturally knew why Reine was looking for him, so she didn't show any other emotions.

But Tohka is different.

"Shido, where are you going? I want to go too."

Seeing that Shido seemed to want to go somewhere, Tohka spoke up without saying a word.

"Ah... this..."

Shido scratched his cheek, looking troubled.

"Shido has something very important to do right now, Tohka, let's just stay here quietly."

Lingmeng said this.

Tohka looked at Shido.

"Is it true, Shido...?"

Not knowing what to say for a moment, Shido simply nodded slightly.

"... Little Shido, let's go quickly."

"Hmm..." Shido responded to Reine's urging voice and then prepared to leave.

"Itsuka -kun, Lingmeng, Yatogami- kun, and Murasame- sensei, why are you still standing there?! Come over here!"

Just then, Teacher Ko-tama's voice came from not far away.

You can see Teacher Ko-tama waving frantically at them.

"Teacher Ko-tama! I'm entrusting Lingmeng and Tohka to you for now."

"Uh... of course! Because I'm a teacher."

Ko-tama scratched her head awkwardly, feeling embarrassed at being suddenly asked to do something like this.

"Okay! Reine, let's go."

"... Um."

After receiving a definite answer from Ko-tama, Shido immediately followed Reine and ran out of the school building.

"Itsuka- kun, Murasame- sensei, where are you going?!"

"Shido, wait for me!"

Ko-tama and Tohka called out at the same time. Just as Tohka was about to follow, Lingmeng stopped her.

"Lingmeng, what are you doing?"

Tohka looked at Lingmeng with surprise. Lingmeng, however, shook her head.

"Shido really has something important to do. If you really want to help him, then listen to your teacher and don't run around."

Lingmeng spoke in a tone as if she were lecturing a child.

She knew that Shido was going on a date with a spirit, and it wouldn't be good if Tohka suddenly showed up and ruined the atmosphere.

Well, Lingmeng herself also quite likes Love Rival Showdown.

"Ugh... I understand."

Hearing Lingmeng's words, although she still had the urge to go out and find Shido, she suppressed it.

"Um... Lingmeng, Itsuka- san Murasame- sensei went to--"

"It's a secret. But don't worry, they'll be fine."

Looking up, she found that Ko-tama had somehow appeared beside her. Lingmeng put her index finger to her lips and said this.

"I hope so..."

Ko-tama nodded dejectedly.

----------------This is the dividing line for the transfer time

"Hey, Teacher Ko-tama."

Sitting on Bench in the Shelter below, Tohka, trying to suppress her panic and anxiety, tightly gripped the hem of her skirt as she spoke to Tamae sitting beside her.

To this, Ko-tama could only manage a smile that betrayed her inner despair.

"I can understand the other classmates, but why does Yatogami call me that?"

"Is there a problem? Isn't it more friendly to call me that?"

Lingmeng smiled, her eyes half-closed.

"Never mind... whatever makes you happy."

Ko-tama sighed softly, then looked at Tohka.

"Yatogami, is there something you need?"

What was that sound just now? And what place is this?

Tohka voiced her question.

So, Ko-tama widened her eyes slightly and said in surprise.

"What are you talking about? That was Spacequake alarm! Because Spacequake might occur, everyone needs to go to the Underground Shelter to avoid danger. As long as you stay here, you'll be safe."

"Spacequake? What is that?"

Tohka tilted her head in confusion.

(Seriously? You were one of the causes of the Spacequake, and you didn't even know?)

Seeing that Tohka, this spirit, had absolutely no idea what Spacequake meant, Lingmeng's lips twitched slightly.

Lingmeng originally thought that Kotori and the Kotori would at least tell Tohka about it, but to her surprise, they didn't say anything at all.

It seems they really went to great lengths to prevent Tohka from becoming depressed because of these things.

Zhongsheng: "Good water..."

Chapter 21's title was eaten by Tohka!

"So, Yatogami, you didn't know about Spacequake? That's quite surprising."

Ko-tama looked surprised. It seems that "Spacequake" is a line everyone knows in this era.

"Ugh... Is it strange that I don't know?"

Tohka pouted unhappily.

Just then, Lingmeng suddenly spoke up.

"Haha... I remember now, it seems that Tohka has never experienced Spacequake for some reason."

"And I don't usually watch TV or socialize with others, so it's normal that I wouldn't know, right?"

Feeling embarrassed, Lingmeng touched her hair and explained.

Because of Tohka's fairy identity, she is unaware of many common facts.

To avoid drawing attention to Tohka's ignorance, Shido had specifically asked Lingmeng a few days ago to keep an eye on Tohka while he was away.

That's why Lingmeng suddenly came to Tohka's rescue.

Although this statement sounds somewhat foolish, in a sense, Lingmeng wasn't lying.

In response, Ko-tama simply widened her eyes slightly and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Is that so? Could it be that Yatogami is a rich heiress, and her parents deliberately prevent her from coming into contact with these things in order to protect her?"

"Um... more or less?"

Lingmeng looked away, unable to meet Ko-tama's eyes.

Ko-tama gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and sighed.

"What a wonderful family bond! It seems Yatogami has some wonderful parents."

Lingmeng gave an awkward laugh. Then Tohka, who was directly involved, tilted her head in confusion.

"... Huh? What are you guys talking about?"

Then, as if she had thought of something, Tohka continued to ask.

"By the way, you still haven't told me what Spacequake is!"

"Spacequake? That's—"

Just as Ko-tama was about to answer Tohka's question, Lingmeng suddenly interrupted her.

"Ko-tama, let me explain to Tohka. I'm afraid if you use technical terms, Tohka won't understand."

Ko-tama was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Oh... no problem."

"Um."

Nodding in response, Lingmeng brought her mouth close to Tohka's ear and explained in a whisper.

"Tohka, listen carefully. To put it simply, Spacequake is an explosion that occurs when spirits like us come to this world."

The destructive power of such an explosion is capable of destroying everything in its vicinity. The most severe instance, the 'Eurasian Great Disaster' that occurred Thirty Years Ago, resulted in 150 million casualties.

Upon hearing those words, Tohka's eyes widened suddenly.

"What! Isn't that extremely dangerous!?"

Lingmeng simply shrugged in response.

"Well, that's why we're taking refuge here now."

"Then... Shido how urgent the situation is, where on earth has Shido gone?"

"I don't know either. Just know that he's going to do something important."

Just then, Tohka gripped her skirt tightly. Lingmeng's words offered her no reassurance whatsoever.

"Shido... please, please don't get hurt..."

Tohka muttered to herself in an uneasy tone.

Lingmeng had been watching everything from the sidelines, sighed helplessly.

(Shido, that harem protagonist, is really enviable. A beautiful girl cares about him so much; I'm so jealous.)

Then, when Lingmeng turned her gaze back to Tohka, she froze.

Because Tohka was just sitting in the chair a moment ago, has suddenly disappeared!?

"Tohka crap, where's Tohka!?"

Lingmeng looked around anxiously.

Then--

"Ah--! Yatogami, where are you going? It's dangerous outside!"

I heard Ko-tama's chirping.

"I'm sorry, Ko-tama, I was still really worried about Shido!"

Looking in the direction from which Tohka's voice came, Lingmeng realized that Tohka had somehow already run to a place not far from the Shelter.

"No, why is this child so disobedient!?"

Lingmeng spoke with a hint of tears in her eyes, then glanced at Ko-tama.

"Ko-tama Tohka, I'll bring Tohka back right away."

"Huh!?"

Ignoring Ko-tama's astonished cry, Lingmeng immediately chased after Tohka in the direction she had left after finishing her sentence.