Chapter 81

Just as he expected, a beautiful blonde girl named Lingmeng was standing right in front of him.

Shido wasn't the only one surprised.

Kotori and her crew, who were atop Fraxinus, and even Yoshino in front of them, all showed expressions of surprise when they saw Lingmeng appear.

"Zhongsheng: 'I might be going to release this... I have mixed feelings...'"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Lost Puppet

"Why... why is Lingmeng- nee here!?"

Kotori's puzzled voice came through the Earphones. Shido now shared the same question.

"Aya... Lingmeng, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home with Tohka-- "

"Oh, you're asking about that?"

Lingmeng interrupted Shido before he could finish his question, then let out a soft breath.

"Hmph, aren't you going to thank me? Thanks to my inspirational words, Tohka has completely forgotten about yesterday's events. As for why I'm here, it was just a coincidence."

Slightly puffing out her proud chest, Lingmeng's face was full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Huh? Is that so!?"

Completely forgetting about Yoshino standing to the side, Shido was filled with surprise.

"Of course, I mean what I say. Would I lie to you?"

Meanwhile, on Kotori Fraxinus, upon learning of this, simply nodded in affirmation.

"You managed to calm Tohka down in such a short time? She was completely unresponsive before."

How should I put it? As expected of Lingmeng- neechan! Shido, it seems your skills at comforting girls aren't as good as Lingmeng's!

Although she was somewhat surprised by Lingmeng's sudden appearance, she remembered that Lingmeng already knew about Ratatoskr.

Besides, she's not the kind of person whose mental state is unstable, so even if she shows up here, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

Hearing Kotori's words, Shido simply muttered something under his breath.

"So... so long-winded."

Although Shido knew that Lingmeng wasn't a girl at heart, Shido couldn't say it out loud. So he could only keep it to himself.

"... But since Lingmeng has already helped you solve Tohka's problem, that's really great. I was originally planning to ask her out and talk to her if Tohka continued like this."

The voice was shrouded in drowsiness; without a doubt, the speaker was Reine.

And then at this moment--

"Hey~ I think your name is Yoshino, right? Do you remember me?"

Lingmeng waved to Yoshino in a very familiar manner. Then, without caring whether Yoshina wanted to or not, she walked straight over to her.

"Huh--!"

Seeing Lingmeng suddenly walk towards her, Yoshino let out a soft groan.

"Wait, Lingmeng-- "

Recalling how he had frightened Yoshino and been attacked by her if he had raised his voice even slightly, Shido quickly stopped Lingmeng.

But it's too late now.

To make Lingmeng stop, Yoshino suddenly slammed her hand on the ground.

Then the water on the ground seemed to suddenly boil, and immediately turned into tiny Ice Spikes that flew rapidly towards Lingmeng.

"Oops--"

Lingmeng gasped in surprise, but then calmly extended her left hand.

Instantly, the Ice Spikes seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand, and then fell to the ground.

"Oh, you're surprisingly shy! Did I startle you by getting too close? I'm so sorry."

After blocking Yoshino's attack, Lingmeng did not continue forward, but wisely took a few steps back.

"Phew~ That really scared me to death."

Seeing that Lingmeng was alright, Shido breathed a sigh of relief.

"Isn't that obvious? Lingmeng is the strongest Element Maker. Even with her power sealed, she can easily withstand that kind of attack."

"Hehe, that's true..."

Shido an awkward laugh.

Just as Kotori said, that attack was really nothing more than a drizzle for Lingmeng.

Perhaps it was because things happened so suddenly that Shido momentarily forgot Lingmeng's identity as a spirit and mistook her for an ordinary girl.

Just as Shido was thinking these things, Yoshino suddenly looked them over with a scrutinizing gaze.

Well, even so, she still looked quite afraid of Shido and Lingmeng.

As if to show that she meant no harm, Lingmeng closed her umbrella and then raised her hands above her head.

"..."

Then, a very quiet situation ensued for the next few minutes.

Seeing that the atmosphere seemed a bit stiff, Shido said, feeling embarrassed.

"Which one..."

"By the way, where did the hand puppet you used to wear go? I don't see it with you."

Just as Shido was about to speak, Lingmeng spoke first.

After all, in Lingmeng's memory, Yoshino usually carried that rabbit hand puppet and used it to communicate with them. But now the girl's hands were empty.

Although Tohka temporarily took the puppet away for a few minutes yesterday because she was angry, Yoshino should have taken it back after summoning the Angel. So why did she do that?

"...!"

The moment Lingmeng finished speaking, Yoshino's eyes widened suddenly.

"Looks like I guessed right."

Seeing Yoshino's expression, Lingmeng knew that her deduction was probably correct. Yoshino nodded frantically.

"So Yoshino stayed here all this time to look for that hand puppet?"

Shido, propped himself up and stood up, muttering in a puzzled tone.

The next second, Yoshino ran up to the two of them, looking at them as if asking if they had seen her.

In response, Lingmeng simply scratched her cheek apologetically.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see it."

"Yeah... me too."

Shido nodded in agreement.

After receiving answers from Lingmeng and Shido, Yoshino wore an expression as if she had encountered the end of the world.

He slumped to the ground in a duck-sitting position, completely powerless.

Then, she lowered her face and began to cry, "Waaah..."

"Hey? Don't cry. Did I do something to upset you?"

Seeing Yoshino crying on the ground, Lingmeng, a lolicon, panicked instantly. After all, she couldn't stand seeing girls cry.

Of course, Shido's reaction was much the same as Lingmeng's. However, he simply didn't know what to do to ease the current situation.

So Shido nervously sent a plea for help to Kotori.

"Kotori... what should we do now?"

"That's true, we can't let the elf keep crying like this. -- The options are here, all crew members, begin choosing immediately!"

Kotori stood up from the Command Seat, her red military uniform fluttering in the wind.

"Yes!" ×N

After a brief reply, the crew of Fraxinus immediately began making their selections.

①"I'll make you forget about that guy!" He acted like a gentle and considerate man.

②"Let me help you find the hand puppet too!" He acted like a gentle and considerate man.

③ "In fact, I am that hand puppet!" This is expressed as if he were a humorous man.

Chapter Twenty -Yoshino Yoshino?

Kotori looked at the vote count displayed on the terminal.

Option ②, which seems the most reliable, received the most votes. Option ① and option ③ each received one vote.

"Well, judging from the current situation, option ② is the most normal. But who chose option ③?"

As she spoke, Kotori glanced at Kannazuki beside her.

Sure enough, Kannazuki's pitiful voice rang out from behind.

"Waaaaah... So it really won't work?"

Kotori could only sigh helplessly, then raised the Microphone and gave Shido his orders.

"Shido, help her find the hand puppet."

"Hmm... I understand."

He nodded knowingly, Shido looked up.

"Um... Yoshino... shall I help you find the hand puppet?"

"...!"

Whether startled by Shido's sudden call of her name or surprised by Shido offer to help, Yoshino trembled slightly.

But this time Yoshino didn't say much, she just pulled down her hat and nodded slightly.

Seeing that Yoshino had agreed, Shido awkwardly scratched his cheek.

"Um... Lingmeng, if you don't want to look for the puppets with us, you can first--"

"Oh, what are you saying? Of course I'm staying to keep you company."

Besides, leaving such a lovely girl alone next to someone like Shido just doesn't feel right, does it?"

Lingmeng shrugged and said in a half-joking tone.

Shido blushed and shouted at this.

"Wha... what do you mean by 'someone like me'?! No matter what, I would never lay a hand on a **! I'm not a lolicon!"

Lingmeng slightly spread her hands and gently shook her head, as if to say, "Alright, alright."

But at this very moment--

"Bong--!"

Perhaps because Shido's voice was too loud, Yoshino, startled, immediately raised her hand high, and the puddle of water piled up next to Shido immediately exploded.

"Waaaaah... Waaah..."

His body was caught completely off guard by the attack. Although the power wasn't great, it still managed to knock Shido's body backward.

And so, losing his balance Shido fell flat on his backside.

"It hurts, it hurts..."

Shido clutched his stomach in slight pain.

Then--