Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Shiori doubts whether using an underhanded tactic to defeat Miku is acceptable. Origami steps in, reveals a remarkably polished singing voice, and agrees to replace Shiori as the trio’s lead singer so Shiori can win.
• Tohka asks to sing as well, but cannot read the lyrics. The group settles on Origami as lead vocalist and begins rehearsing for the Tengu Festival.
• At Rindouji Girls’ Academy, Miku announces that she will perform on the festival’s first day. She plans to take over the available performance slots, redirect students to support her show, and obtain new costumes and equipment.
• Several students object, pointing out that bands have already prepared, other departments need support, and the school lacks the budget. Miku silences them with her influence and promises to handle the problems.
• On September 22, Origami reports to the AST base for routine Realizer maintenance. She senses an unexplained tension among the personnel and maintenance crew.

Character developments

• Origami shows an unexpectedly powerful singing talent and readily offers to help Shiori, demonstrating her loyalty and determination.
• Shiori struggles with the ethics of the proposed plan but accepts Origami’s help.
• Tohka is eager to join in, though her difficulty reading the lyrics provides comic contrast to Origami’s competence.
• Miku reveals her controlling, self-assured side: she expects the school to prioritize her performance despite its costs to others.
• The protesting students show growing willingness to challenge Miku, even though her authority ultimately suppresses them.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus winning: Shiori questions whether victory justifies a dirty trick, while the performance preparations offer a more straightforward alternative.
• Loyalty and cooperation: Origami’s support helps Shiori, and the group works together toward the festival.
• Power and dissent: Miku’s popularity gives her considerable influence, but her demands conflict with students’ efforts, resources, and responsibilities.
• Unease and foreshadowing: The tense atmosphere at the AST base hints that something is wrong beyond the festival preparations.

Character interactions

• Shiori, Lingmeng, Tohka, and the trio react to Origami’s singing and encourage her to take the lead.
• Origami accepts Shiori’s request without hesitation; Tohka then volunteers, prompting a lighthearted mishap with the lyrics.
• At Rindouji, students challenge Miku’s plans, but she asserts control and secures their reluctant agreement.
• At the AST base, Origami notices the strain among her fellow personnel, setting up an unresolved concern.

Key plot points and events

• Origami notices AST personnel acting unusually and learns that an operation is planned for the next day, but Xiaomi says the details are classified and Origami lacks clearance.
• Ryouko covertly reveals the plan: at 3 p.m. on September 23, the Third Combat Squadron will raid the Tengu Festival at Tengu City Plaza to capture Qian Lingmeng, Tohka, and Shido. The operation would take place amid crowds of civilians.
• Ryouko hints that she will leave Hangar 2’s back door unlocked, giving Origami a chance to interfere.
• The Tengu Festival opens. Shido, disguised as “Shiori-chan,” is working at Raizen High’s maid café alongside Tohka and the Yamai sisters, who tease him about the outfit.

Character developments and interactions

• Origami begins suspicious and excluded, but her concern turns to alarm when she learns Shido is a target. She reacts emotionally and appears ready to act against the operation.
• Ryouko pretends to complain to herself so she can warn Origami without openly disclosing classified information; her unlocked-door hint signals support.
• Xiaomi is caught between her wish to explain the operation and Jessica’s insistence that it is classified.
• Jessica enforces the information restriction and dismisses Origami’s objections.
• Shido, Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru are introduced in the festival setting, with the Yamai sisters laughing at Shido’s maid disguise.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and exclusion: Origami is kept outside the information loop despite being part of AST.
• Duty versus conscience: The planned capture operation puts military orders in conflict with the safety of Spirits, Shido, and festival-goers.
• Loyalty and quiet resistance: Ryouko’s indirect warning suggests personal concern and a willingness to help Origami act.
• Comedy amid danger: The chapter contrasts the looming raid with the lighthearted, embarrassing maid-café preparations.

Key plot points and events

• Shiori discovers that Lingmeng is working as the café’s chef rather than wearing a maid uniform. Lingmeng teases her by suggesting she might put one on at home, then admits she was joking.
• Ai, Mai, and Mii explain that they secured approval for the school’s maid café by first proposing an even more outrageous “hotel” concept. Their original plans also included more revealing uniforms, which the teachers rejected.
• The café is about to open. The trio assigns Shiori to recruit customers outside, while Lingmeng handles the cooking and the other staff serve customers inside.
• Origami has not appeared, despite being expected at the café. Lingmeng finds her absence unusual, but the arriving crowd interrupts her thoughts.

Character developments and interactions

• Shiori remains easily flustered: she hopes to see Lingmeng in a maid outfit, but Lingmeng’s teasing leaves her embarrassed and disappointed. She accepts her role as the café’s “Shop’s Beauty,” though she is uneasy about the event’s more suggestive plans.
• Lingmeng is playful and perceptive, quickly noticing Shiori’s wish and teasing her. She is also confident about cooking and takes on the chef role.
• Ai, Mai, and Mii show their mischievous, scheming side through their rejected proposals and risqué uniform ideas. They nonetheless organize the café and direct Shiori to draw in customers.
• Origami’s unexplained absence concerns Lingmeng, who suspects something may have happened, while the others treat it casually.

Significant themes

• Playful embarrassment and teasing: Shiori’s reactions to Lingmeng and her maid uniform hopes drive much of the humor.
• Performance and presentation: The café relies on costumes, personas, and Shiori’s appeal to attract visitors.
• Boundaries and propriety: The teachers’ rejection of the more provocative plans contrasts with the girls’ attempts to push the limits of what the school will allow.

Key plot points and events

• Ai, Mai, and Mii appoint Shiori as Head Maid and Lingmeng as Head Chef for the school festival café. Though initially flustered, both accept their roles.
• The café opens to a crowd. Tohka enthusiastically advertises it, Kaguya’s dramatic pitch is less inviting, and Yuzuru holds up the menu. Lingmeng’s fast, impressive cooking helps make the café more popular than nearby stalls.
• Reine and Yoshino visit. Shiori—actually Shido in disguise—welcomes them, but Yoshino’s sincere compliment about his appearance leaves him mortified.
• Shiori seats them, and Lingmeng serves Yoshino blue-syrup shaved ice and Reine her sweet, original dish, caramelized fried noodles. Both enjoy their food.

Character developments

• Shiori pushes past his embarrassment to take responsibility for the café and care for its guests, though Yoshino’s innocent praise breaks his composure.
• Lingmeng embraces the Head Chef role and shows confidence and creativity in the kitchen, adapting her dishes to her guests’ tastes.
• Yoshino is shy and gentle, while her puppet speaks with mischievous bluntness.
• Reine remains characteristically sleepy and reserved, but appreciates Lingmeng’s cooking.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and responsibility: The group shares the work of running the café, and their combined effort draws customers.
• Performance and embarrassment: Shido manages his feminine disguise around most people, but Yoshino’s genuine, unguarded kindness makes it especially difficult.
• Care expressed through food: Lingmeng’s cooking reflects attention to the people she serves, including Reine’s preference for sweets.

Character interactions

• Shiori and Lingmeng support each other in their new leadership roles.
• Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru attract customers in contrasting ways.
• Shiori warmly welcomes Reine and Yoshino despite his discomfort at being seen in disguise.
• Yoshino compliments Shiori, prompting his comic collapse, while Lingmeng cheerfully serves both visitors and teases Reine about the generous amount of sugar.

Key plot points and events

• Lingmeng returns to the kitchen but senses someone secretly watching her. Though the watcher stays hidden, Lingmeng identifies the likely culprit and leaves a cat-shaped fried-rice dish for her. A pair of hands pulls it into a shadow, and the unseen woman thanks Lingmeng.
• Shiori’s maid café is thriving, with a long queue outside, until Miku Izayoi arrives surrounded by fans, students, and a cameraman. She approaches Shiori and teases him about eventually belonging to her, along with Lingmeng.
• Irritated by the surrounding crowd, Miku tells everyone to leave. Her command clears the area—including the café’s customers and staff—leaving Shiori and Miku behind. Lingmeng rushes out, upset that customers have left without paying.
• Lingmeng confronts Miku, who agrees to cover the café’s losses. Miku then declares herself a paying customer and asks Lingmeng to cook for her. Lingmeng prepares omurice and serves it.

Character developments

• Lingmeng shows perceptiveness by recognizing the hidden observer, along with generosity in feeding her, even while playfully insisting the watcher should be grateful. She is also protective of the café’s business and blunt in her exchanges with Miku.
• Shiori continues to draw customers as a maid, but becomes uncomfortable when Miku publicly teases him and draws attention to their rivalry.
• Miku displays her usual confident, flirtatious persona. Her irritation at being crowded leads her to dismiss everyone, but she accepts responsibility for the café’s losses and engages Lingmeng directly.

Significant themes

• Hidden observation and quiet connection: Lingmeng’s awareness of the unseen watcher—and her food offering—suggests an understanding between them despite their distance.
• Public attention versus privacy: Miku’s fame draws a crowd that disrupts the café and makes Shiori’s situation more stressful.
• Rivalry softened by hospitality: Though Lingmeng and Miku trade sharp, teasing remarks, Lingmeng still welcomes her as a customer and cooks for her.

Character interactions

• Lingmeng speaks to the hidden watcher, leaves her food, and silently acknowledges that she has noticed it being taken.
• Miku greets and teases Shiori, who responds politely but with visible unease.
• Lingmeng accuses Miku of driving away the café’s customers; Miku apologizes indirectly by agreeing to pay and then orders a meal.
• Lingmeng and Miku continue their playful, sometimes exasperated banter as Lingmeng prepares and serves the omurice.

Chapter Summary

• Miku teases Lingmeng at the maid café. After Lingmeng serves her omelet rice, Miku insists on classic maid-café flourishes: Lingmeng must draw a ketchup heart and write “I love Miku the most,” then perform a spell to make the meal tastier. Lingmeng reluctantly complies, becoming so embarrassed by the finger-heart-and-incantation routine that she collapses.
• Shiori nearly performs the spell himself. He agrees because he wants to stay on good terms with the Spirits, but Lingmeng stops him out of jealousy and takes over. Miku enjoys how flustered she becomes, then also asks to be fed; Lingmeng’s exasperated reaction finally prompts Miku to say she’ll stop—for now.
• Miku reveals why she came. She invites Shiori and Lingmeng on a date, explaining that she expects to win the competition and will have more chances afterward. Lingmeng objects because they are still running the café and asks Miku to undo her ability, which had caused the staff and customers to leave.
• Miku restores the café. She calls everyone back, clears the haze from their minds, and uses her voice to direct them to resume their previous activities.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Lingmeng is embarrassed by Miku’s demands but ultimately gives in. Her decision to perform the spell herself rather than let Shiori do it reveals her jealousy and protectiveness toward him.
• Shiori tries to be accommodating to Miku and the other Spirits, even though he had previously said he would reject her. He is also attentive to Lingmeng when she collapses.
• Miku is playful, confident, and deliberately provocative. She enjoys getting reactions from both of them, but also demonstrates her power by reversing its effects on the café’s crowd.

Significant Themes

The scene centers on romantic teasing and rivalry, with Miku’s confidence contrasting against Lingmeng’s embarrassment and jealousy. It also highlights Shiori’s desire to please others and the unusual influence Miku’s Spirit Power can exert over people.

Key plot points and events

• With the Maid Café back to normal, Miku asks Shiori and Lingmeng to go on a date. Shiori agrees, and Lingmeng reluctantly joins to keep Shiori from being alone with Miku.
• Lingmeng abandons the busy café despite her coworkers’ protests. Since she is the only cook who can make the Chinese dishes customers came for, she leaves the staff scrambling and tells them to improvise.
• At the Tengu Garrison Base, Origami sneaks into an empty hangar. After receiving covert warnings from fellow AST members, she learns that DEM intends to capture Lingmeng, Tohka, and Shido.
• Origami realizes DEM may be targeting Shido because he can use—or take—a Spirit’s power. Fearing what DEM would do to him, she decides to steal a Realizer and protect him, even at the cost of her AST career and her chance to pursue revenge.
• The chapter returns to the date: Miku buys crepes for herself, Shiori, and Lingmeng. Kotori reminds Shiori through her earpiece that keeping Miku’s affection high is important before their coming confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Lingmeng reluctantly cooperates with Miku out of concern for Shiori, but her casual, irresponsible departure from the café highlights her playful disregard for the consequences.
• Miku appears cheerful and almost ordinary while enjoying the date, a contrast with her more difficult personality. She takes the initiative by inviting the others.
• Shiori remains awkward about the date and uneasy about her role in it, while Kotori frames it as a strategic chance to build Miku’s affection.
• Origami puts Shido’s safety ahead of her own position and personal vendetta. She acts on the trust and concern she feels for him, choosing to risk everything rather than remain powerless.
• Ryouko and other AST members, including Xiaomi, quietly help Origami uncover DEM’s plans, despite the danger of speaking openly.

Significant themes

• Protective love and sacrifice: Origami is willing to lose her career and her ability to fight for revenge to save Shido.
• Affection as both emotion and strategy: The date is meant to strengthen Miku’s feelings before the planned confrontation.
• Competing responsibilities: Lingmeng leaves coworkers depending on her, while Origami chooses a personal promise over obedience to her organization.

Plot points and events

• Kotori encourages Lingmeng to be kinder to Miku during their date, so long as Miku doesn’t do anything seriously objectionable. Lingmeng agrees, though she remains wary of Miku’s flirtation and interest in Shiori.
• The three try their crepes. Miku asks to taste both Lingmeng’s and Shiori’s, biting the same spots they had eaten from to provoke them with “indirect kisses.” Lingmeng is especially jealous when Miku shares one with Shiori, but refuses Miku’s suggestion that kissing her would be a substitute.
• Shiori steers the group away from the haunted house, knowing Lingmeng is frightened of it, and toward the shooting games.
• Shiori asks why Miku invited them out. Miku says she wants to enjoy their company before the competition, because she expects them to belong to her afterward. Lingmeng and Shiori insist they intend to win and remind Miku to honor their agreement.
• Miku spots a ring-toss game and invites them to play. Lingmeng has no particular prize in mind, while Shiori selects a nearby cat plush.

Character developments and interactions

• Lingmeng tries to follow Kotori’s advice, but Miku’s teasing quickly tests her patience. Her jealousy surfaces when Miku and Shiori share a crepe, and Shiori notices her reaction.
• Shiori shows consideration for Lingmeng by avoiding the haunted house, then helps redirect the conversation when the crepe-sharing banter grows tense.
• Miku remains playful, provocative, and supremely confident about winning the competition, while presenting herself as trustworthy. Her teasing brings out both Lingmeng’s jealousy and Shiori’s caution.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and romantic rivalry: Miku’s deliberate flirting stirs Lingmeng’s possessiveness toward Shiori.
• Trust and competition: The date takes place under the shadow of an upcoming contest, with both sides emphasizing that its agreement must be honored.
• Care beneath teasing: Shiori’s attention to Lingmeng’s fear shows their closeness, even amid the rivalry.

Key plot points and events

• At a festival ring-toss stall, Miku tries to win Shiori a cat plushie but misses twice.
• Rather than make another attempt, Miku uses her Spirit voice to compel the stall worker to give her the prize. She then tries to get a puppy plushie for Lingmeng the same way.
• Shiori and Lingmeng stop her, explaining that taking prizes by force is unfair to the stall worker. Lingmeng demonstrates how to win honestly, landing several rings and earning loud applause—though she nearly clears out the stall.
• Miku insists she meant well and sees no reason to follow the game’s rules when her power can get her what she wants. She treats ordinary people as pawns, while saying Shiori and Lingmeng are exceptions.
• Shiori tells Miku that she and Lingmeng may have to defeat her before she can truly learn to interact with humans. Miku challenges their view of humanity and hints at a test, then ends the date and says she will be waiting onstage—if they can get there.

Character developments

• Miku remains self-assured and dismissive of ordinary people, but Shiori’s and Lingmeng’s arguments provoke a visible reaction. Her brief anger when Lingmeng suggests she would be no different from a human without her power hints at a deeper sensitivity about her identity.
• Shiori tries to correct Miku without condemning her outright. She recognizes that Miku may not understand why her behavior is wrong and connects her situation to Tohka’s earlier difficulty adjusting to human society.
• Lingmeng openly challenges Miku’s superiority and uses her ring-toss success to make the case that effort matters. Beneath her moral lesson, however, she privately admits that getting things for free has its appeal.
• Shiori and Lingmeng grow more united in their resolve to confront Miku and help her understand people.

Significant themes

• Power versus fairness: Miku’s ability to control people does not make coercion acceptable.
• Effort and earned rewards: Lingmeng argues that winning through effort is more meaningful than taking what one wants.
• Human dignity and agency: The chapter challenges Miku’s view of people as obedient tools and suggests they will resist being used.
• Learning to connect: Like Tohka before her, Miku may need experience and confrontation to understand how to live among humans.

Character interactions

• Miku’s attempted “gift” of the plushies becomes a dispute when Shiori and Lingmeng reject the coercion behind it.
• Lingmeng directly criticizes Miku’s sense of superiority, while Shiori explains the ethical problem more gently.
• Miku dismisses their concerns but responds with interest—and possibly irritation—when her assumptions about Spirits and humans are challenged.
• Her cryptic farewell leaves Shiori and Lingmeng suspicious that she has a plan for the upcoming stage event.

Plot points and events

• After dominating a ring-toss game, Lingmeng returns to the Maid Café with a huge haul of plush toys. The staff are astonished, and she gives the prizes to them to distribute to customers.
• As the school’s performance approaches, Lingmeng, Shiori, and Tohka gather backstage, but Origami and the three band members Ai, Mai, and Mii are missing.
• Shiori reaches Ai by phone and learns that the three girls have chosen not to perform because their “big sister” told them to give up. Shiori suspects Miku used her Spirit ability to influence them.
• With the band missing its bass player, keyboardist, drummer, and lead singer, the remaining trio cannot deliver the performance they had planned.
• Miku appears in her mermaid-inspired stage costume, taunts them, and denies having done anything. Lingmeng angrily confronts her, but Miku leaves to prepare for her own performance.
• Shiori wonders whether Miku also stopped Origami from coming, but Lingmeng thinks Origami is more likely delayed by AST. With the performance in danger, Shiori decides to ask her capable younger sister for help.

Character developments and interactions

• Lingmeng shifts from playful pride in her ring-toss victory to intense anger when she realizes Miku may have sabotaged the group. She wants to attack Miku, but Shiori urges restraint.
• Shiori is frustrated by the missing performers and Miku’s apparent interference, but stays focused on finding a solution. She is also concerned about Origami.
• Miku reveals a ruthless, competitive side: she appears willing to use her ability to keep rivals offstage, then feigns innocence while provoking Lingmeng.
• Ai, Mai, and Mii withdraw from the performance under the influence of their “big sister,” leaving their teammates in a difficult position.
• Lingmeng and Miku’s exchange establishes open hostility, while Shiori acts as the more practical counterbalance to Lingmeng’s impulsiveness.

Significant themes

• Unfair competition and sabotage: Miku’s suspected use of her ability threatens the group’s chance to compete.
• Teamwork under pressure: The remaining performers must find a way forward despite losing most of their band.
• Restraint versus anger: Lingmeng’s desire to retaliate contrasts with Shiori’s effort to keep the conflict from escalating.

Plot points and events

• Shiori asks Kotori for urgent help after Miku uses her control over Ai, Mai, and Mii—and Origami’s disappearance—to sabotage the band before its performance.
• With less than two hours to prepare, Kotori proposes using a recording for the lead vocals. Shiori will play and lip-sync while Ratatoskr agents cue the audio.
• The group is still short of musicians. Kotori promises to send two substitutes and says she has a discreet way to keep them from being disqualified, though she does not explain the plan.
• Lingmeng suggests bribing the judges, but Kotori rejects the idea as too obvious. She admits she is willing to retaliate because Miku cheated first.
• As Miku’s performance is about to begin, Shiori, Tohka, and Lingmeng go to watch from a catwalk overlooking the stage. Blue spotlights focus on Miku and the Ryudouji students.

Character developments and interactions

• Shiori is anxious about the rushed preparations and the fairness of using recordings and substitutes, but accepts the plan when Kotori and Lingmeng reassure her.
• Kotori takes charge with practical contingencies, teasing Shiori while insisting Ratatoskr can handle the problem. Her casual confidence also hints at a more underhanded countermeasure.
• Lingmeng is openly supportive of Shiori and eager to retaliate against Miku, though her suggestion to bribe the judges is treated as impractical.
• Tohka remains cheerfully attentive, noticing that Miku’s performance is starting and guiding Shiori out of the empty waiting room.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus retaliation: Miku’s sabotage pushes Shiori’s team to consider bending the rules, raising the question of how far they should go in response.
• Teamwork under pressure: The group combines Ratatoskr’s resources with the girls’ improvisation to meet an impossible deadline.
• Performance and appearance: Lip-syncing and secret substitutes blur the line between genuine performance and staged success.

Additional material

The chapter then shifts into an author’s note in which Zhongsheng alleges that another fanfiction copied the book’s opening, scenes, and chapter titles. Zhongsheng says the resemblance became more troubling when the other author pointed out a second book with a strikingly similar title and a character resembling Lingmeng. The note ends before Zhongsheng finishes explaining the situation.

Key plot points and events

• The narrator discovers a second Date A Live fan fiction that copies their protagonist’s appearance, abilities, setup, and first four chapters almost verbatim. The other author dismisses the similarities by pointing to differences in genre and later plot.
• A reader from the narrator’s group admits that his own story, The Little Witch’s Date Journey, copied the narrator’s chapters even more extensively. Although asked to rewrite them, he makes only minor edits, and the narrator again chooses not to report the book.
• A new reader praises the narrator’s work and promises Monthly Tickets in exchange for a happy ending, but later gives those tickets to the plagiarized story. The narrator learns that the reader prefers overpowered-protagonist yuri and dislikes marriage plots.
• When the reader ranks fan-fiction protagonists, he places the copied protagonist above the narrator’s. He insists the books merely resemble each other and argues that reporting the other author would be unfair competition.
• The narrator initially avoids taking action, but changes course when the plagiarized book signs a contract and begins earning money. Readers help assemble comparison images, and their report succeeds: the book is removed.
• The chapter ends with the reader asking where the book went. The narrator explains that someone reported it.

Character developments and interactions

• The narrator moves from reluctant tolerance—partly to avoid confrontation and because the books were not earning money—to defending their work once the plagiarism becomes commercial. They are repeatedly shocked and frustrated but try to stay measured, especially with a reader who copied their work.
• The reader-author openly admits copying the narrator’s story but fails to make a meaningful rewrite after being asked.
• The fan of the plagiarized book favors its yuri direction over the narrator’s marriage story. He defends the author, dismisses the evidence, and frames reporting as unfair rather than acknowledging the copying.
• The narrator’s group members provide practical support by creating comparison images and reporting the contracted book.

Significant themes

• Plagiarism and creative ownership: Repeated copying raises questions about when resemblance becomes appropriation and whether authors should act to protect their work.
• Reader bias and genre preference: The fan’s dislike of marriage stories leads him to overlook copying and favor a version that matches his tastes.
• Conflict avoidance versus self-advocacy: The narrator’s reluctance to cause trouble gives way when the copied work begins generating income.
• Community support: Fellow readers ultimately help the narrator take action when they decide the situation has crossed a line.

Key events

• The author of a Date A Live fanfic that had copied the narrator’s work began a new story, My Date A Live Is Different, without apologizing or explaining why the earlier book had been removed.
• The narrator recounts a reader who had promised to divide Monthly Tickets evenly between them but instead supported the plagiarist more, claiming he felt involved in shaping the new story. He also complained that the narrator’s protagonist had already claimed too many powers.
• Another reader, unaware of the plagiarism, demanded compensation because the copied story had been taken down. After comparing the books, he realized they shared the same opening chapters but still blamed the narrator for losing a story he had enjoyed.
• When readers later called out the author, he falsely claimed the old book was removed for sexual content and deleted comments—including his own earlier admissions. He had promised an apology, but the narrator still had not seen one.
• The narrator then critiques several Date A Live fanfics, arguing that they rely on copied material, poor characterization, inconsistent timelines, forced romance, padding, and repetitive requests for reader rewards. The chapter ends by introducing the next story, The Little Witch’s Date Journey.

Character developments and interactions

• Narrator: Grows increasingly frustrated and disillusioned, particularly with readers who excuse plagiarism or treat the narrator as responsible for losing the copied story. They remain firm that the author should acknowledge and answer for the theft.
• Plagiarizing author: Avoids accountability, protects his reputation, deletes criticism, and continues soliciting reader support while publishing another story.
• Readers: Some continue supporting the author despite the plagiarism; one even frames the new story as partly his own. Another reacts angrily when he discovers the copied chapters have disappeared, revealing how fandom loyalty can override fairness.
• Narrator and readers: Their exchanges expose a sharp divide between the narrator’s concern with authorship and readers’ attachment to content they enjoyed, regardless of its source.

Significant themes

• Plagiarism and accountability: Removing a book is not meaningful justice if the author faces no public consequences and refuses to apologize.
• Fandom loyalty and complicity: Readers’ affection and financial support can help an unrepentant creator retain their reputation.
• Integrity versus popularity: The plagiarist continues to gain attention and rewards, while the narrator watches readers overlook the wrongdoing.
• Quality and source knowledge: The narrator links weak fanfiction—especially inaccurate timelines and out-of-character relationships—to authors’ failure to understand the original material.

Key events

• Miku delivers a dazzling concert performance, winning over even Lingmeng and Shiori, who are not especially interested in idols.
• Kotori secretly sabotages the venue’s sound and lighting to interrupt Miku and curb the audience’s excitement. Miku counters by manifesting her Astral Dress, whose glow lights the stage, then continues singing without a microphone or accompaniment.
• The crowd is swept up in Miku’s improvised performance, and she finishes to thunderous applause. Her composed response makes her professionalism clear, though her teasing glance leaves Lingmeng feeling challenged.
• Lingmeng suggests bribing the judges, but Shiori rejects the idea: if they win, it should be fair. Tohka encourages them not to lose heart before their own performance.
• Back in the waiting room, two familiar self-styled “Hurricane Princesses” arrive to help, though one immediately criticizes the other’s lackluster entrance.

Character developments and interactions

• Miku proves both a powerful performer and a quick-thinking improviser, turning Kotori’s sabotage into a more dramatic spectacle. She appears to enjoy provoking her rivals.
• Lingmeng is impressed by Miku but becomes anxious about the competition and briefly considers cheating. Shiori’s response makes her reconsider.
• Shiori holds firmly to fair play and steadies the group.
• Tohka shows unexpected confidence and encourages Lingmeng and Shiori when they begin to doubt themselves.
• Kotori uses underhanded tactics to suppress Miku’s performance, but the plan backfires when Miku’s Astral Dress energizes the crowd.
• The chapter opens with the narrator describing months of frustration over several allegedly plagiarized works, explaining the personal conflict behind the broader story.

Significant themes

• Integrity versus winning at any cost: Shiori argues that victory is meaningless if achieved through cheating.
• Resilience and improvisation: Miku adapts smoothly to sabotage and performs without the usual equipment.
• Performance and spectacle: Miku’s presence proves powerful enough to captivate the audience even when the stage technology fails.
• Creative ownership and frustration: The opening passage frames plagiarism as an ongoing source of exhaustion and resentment for the narrator.

Key plot points and events

• Lingmeng’s band is short-handed, but Kaguya and Yuzuru arrive in maid outfits to volunteer as substitutes. Despite Lingmeng’s doubts, they demonstrate exceptional skill on drums and bass.
• The sisters explain that they learned their instruments through their many competitive contests, then agree to help the others perform.
• Mistaking Shiori and Tohka’s café clothes for band uniforms, Kaguya and Yuzuru decide Lingmeng must match them. They reveal they brought a maid outfit and, with Tohka’s help, overpower Lingmeng and change her into it.
• Yuzuru photographs and records the transformation. The sisters then tease Lingmeng about her appearance and underwear, prompting an embarrassed, furious protest.

Character developments

• Kaguya and Yuzuru show that their rivalry has given them practical skills, while their willingness to support the group reveals their affection and gratitude toward Shiori.
• Lingmeng shifts from relief at gaining talented bandmates to helpless embarrassment when the sisters make her their target.
• Shiori is touched by the sisters’ offer but is too awkward—and arguably too curious—to intervene.
• Tohka is easily persuaded to join the ambush when promised Kinako Bread.

Significant themes

• Rivalry as a source of growth: The sisters’ contests have developed into genuine musical ability.
• Friendship and cooperation: The Yamai sisters step in to help the group when it needs them.
• Comic embarrassment and teasing: The band’s preparations give way to a playful, chaotic prank that leaves Lingmeng humiliated.

Character interactions

• The sisters reassure Shiori and earn her gratitude by offering their help.
• Kaguya and Yuzuru unite against Lingmeng, while Shiori watches and Tohka switches sides for food.
• Lingmeng protests the forced outfit change and the sisters’ invasive comments, but the others’ amusement leaves her without support.

• The maid transformation: Kaguya and Yuzuru reveal Lingmeng in a maid outfit, to her embarrassment. She objects that the look is incomplete without white stockings, then reluctantly asks Yuzuru to fetch some. After putting them on, Lingmeng admires how cute she looks and playfully calls Shiori “Master,” flustering her.
• Character developments and interactions: Lingmeng shifts from resisting the outfit to enjoying the role once she sees the result, though she remains exasperated by Kaguya and Yuzuru’s teasing. Tohka enthusiastically praises Lingmeng but is confused by the sisters’ excitement over the stockings; Shiori is too embarrassed to explain. The group’s laughter and teasing create a light, affectionate mood.
• The impending attack: The scene shifts to DEM operative Jessica above Tengu City Plaza. At 2:55 p.m., she prepares ten Wizards and roughly twenty Bandersnatch robots for an assault. Their plan is to break through the ceiling above the stage, send in the robots to seize the Spirits, then bombard them and capture the wounded targets. They intend to prioritize Princess if capturing both Princess and Element Maker proves too difficult.
• Themes: Playful embarrassment and friendship contrast sharply with the coming violence. Jessica acknowledges that attacking in a crowded plaza will likely injure or kill civilians and says she feels guilty, but proceeds with the operation regardless.

Plot points and events

• DEM forces—ten Wizards and twenty Bandersnatch robots—take position above Tengu City Plaza, where the Tengu Festival and a performance are underway. Jessica leads the assault, preparing to blast through the venue’s ceiling and seize the Spirits.
• Aboard Fraxinus, Kotori realizes DEM is likely targeting the six Spirits present: Lingmeng, Tohka, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and the unsealed Miku. The attack also puts the festival crowd at risk.
• Unable to use Fraxinus’s main cannon safely, Kotori asks Lingmeng to intercept the attackers. Lingmeng reluctantly agrees and leaves Shiori, promising to return before the performance.
• Just as Jessica is about to fire, a powerful magical attack strikes the DEM formation. It destroys a Bandersnatch and nearly hits Jessica, demonstrating that a formidable new arrival has entered the battle. Kotori also sees this person appear on Fraxinus’s screen, but the chapter ends before identifying what happens next.

Character developments

• Kotori responds quickly to the threat but is constrained by the civilians below. She relies on Lingmeng because she believes the Spirit can neutralize the attackers efficiently.
• Lingmeng remains willing to protect the others, but resents that Ratatoskr repeatedly depends on her instead of providing its own capable fighters.
• Jessica is confident and eager to begin the assault, but the sudden, overwhelming counterattack shakes her.

Character interactions

• Kotori and Kannazuki discuss their limited options; Kannazuki offers to fight, but Kotori initially chooses Lingmeng.
• Kotori privately contacts Lingmeng to avoid alarming Shido or disrupting the competition.
• Lingmeng tells Shiori she must step away, and Shiori urges her to come back quickly.

Significant themes

• Protecting civilians versus pursuing power: DEM’s willingness to attack during a crowded festival contrasts with Kotori’s concern for the people at risk.
• Burden of responsibility: Lingmeng is repeatedly asked to shoulder Ratatoskr’s defensive work, despite being one of the Spirits the organization is meant to protect.
• Uncertainty and escalation: The unexpected attacker disrupts DEM’s plan and hints that the confrontation is about to become far more dangerous.

Key plot points

• Jessica and the DEM Wizards identify the attacking pilot as Origami Tobiichi, an AST Wizard using White Lycoris—a powerful but notoriously defective Realizer.
• Origami’s arrival sparks a fight. Her opening assault catches Jessica’s group off guard and incapacitates more than half the Wizards and Bandersnatches.
• Lingmeng reaches the roof of Tengu City Plaza and spots Origami fighting. She imagines Origami came alone to protect Shido and the others from the planned Spirit capture.
• A Bandersnatch Origami shoots down crashes through the roof near Lingmeng. Lingmeng narrowly escapes, then uses her Angel to destroy the machine and repair the roof, though she leaves damaged wiring alone.
• Watching the battle, Lingmeng notices that Origami’s advantage is beginning to fade. Jessica rallies and fires back after another member of her squad is hit.

Character developments and interactions

• Origami shows fierce determination, taking on a large force alone in White Lycoris. Her silence and relentless attacks leave her motives unclear to the others.
• Lingmeng interprets Origami’s actions as selfless protection, revealing her sympathetic view of Origami. She also displays practical concern for concealing the battle’s damage, even while joking about being a considerate Spirit.
• Jessica shifts from surprise to anger and directs her squad to target Origami. After suffering heavy losses, she personally joins the attack.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and protection: Origami appears to risk herself to shield others, at least as Lingmeng understands it.
• Power and cost: White Lycoris delivers overwhelming firepower, but its dangerous reputation foreshadows the strain and risk of using it.
• Misinterpretation and uncertainty: Lingmeng’s explanation of Origami’s motives is speculation, while Origami herself says nothing.
• Collateral damage and responsibility: Lingmeng cleans up the wreckage and repairs the roof, but her selective approach shows the limits of her sense of responsibility.

Key plot points and events

• Origami continues fighting Jessica’s DEM force, destroying much of the unit despite being badly injured. Jessica tries to call for backup, but Ryoko Kusakabe’s channel says she has been ordered not to join the battle.
• Jessica realizes Ryoko’s superior arranged Origami’s presence and vows to settle the score. She then requests help from DEM’s Japan branch.
• Origami’s injuries catch up with her: she is bleeding heavily and loses strength during a clash with Jessica. Surrounded by about ten Wizards, she prepares to fight to the death.
• Qian Lingmeng suddenly arrives and offers to help. Origami resists the idea, but reluctantly accepts that she needs assistance.
• The Wizards are unimpressed by Lingmeng’s claim to be the strongest spirit, though Jessica recognizes her as Element Maker from DEM’s records and fears the consequences of fighting her.

Character developments and interactions

• Origami remains determined and self-sacrificing, but her physical limits force her to accept help. She reacts irritably to Lingmeng’s teasing and points her weapon at her when the teasing goes too far.
• Lingmeng arrives with playful confidence, framing her intervention as a rescue and treating the battle almost like a game. Her boast about being the strongest spirit does not earn the reaction she expects.
• Jessica shifts from attacking Origami to seeking reinforcements, then becomes alarmed when she recognizes Lingmeng. She privately scolds her subordinates for not knowing DEM’s records.
• The Wizards regain confidence when Origami weakens, but their ignorance of Lingmeng’s identity contrasts with Jessica’s fear.

Significant themes

• Limits and dependence: Even a highly capable fighter like Origami cannot always prevail alone, and survival may require accepting help.
• Reputation versus recognition: Lingmeng’s fearsome reputation is well known to DEM leadership but means little to the soldiers who do not recognize her.
• Humor amid danger: Lingmeng’s teasing and self-important introduction provide comic relief against the lethal stakes of the battle.

Key plot points and events

• DEM Wizards fail to recognize Lingmeng, despite being sent to capture the “strongest Spirit.” Jessica, their captain, eventually realizes who she is.
• Lingmeng gives the team a chance to leave, but they ignore her warning and open fire on her and Origami.
• Using her control over time, Lingmeng freezes the incoming shells, redirects them toward the Wizards, and lets time resume. The team dodges the blasts.
• Lingmeng then uses spatial movement and lightning-enhanced punches to defeat the Wizards one by one. Jessica is left as the sole survivor.
• Rather than finishing Jessica, Lingmeng offers to let her take the others and go. Jessica reluctantly accepts, choosing survival over pride.
• Lingmeng checks on Origami, who rejects her concern. Origami then spots an unseen danger and warns Lingmeng, but the chapter ends before revealing what it is.

Character developments

• Lingmeng shows confidence in her overwhelming strength but also restraint: she warns the Wizards, protects Origami, and spares Jessica. Her casual, joking manner contrasts with her frightening combat ability.
• Jessica shifts from duty-bound defiance to fear and pragmatic surrender. Though proud, she recognizes that fighting Lingmeng further would be pointless.
• Origami remains emotionally guarded and dismissive of Lingmeng’s concern, but her warning at the end shows she is alert to danger.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: The Wizards’ ignorance gives way to firsthand recognition of Lingmeng’s strength.
• Mercy versus pride: Lingmeng offers a peaceful exit, while Jessica must set aside her pride to accept it.
• Strength with restraint: Lingmeng can easily overpower her opponents but chooses to spare the captain.
• Trust and concern: Lingmeng’s protective actions toward Origami meet with rejection, leaving their relationship tense.

Character interactions

• Lingmeng mocks the Wizards’ lack of preparation and gives them a chance to withdraw; they answer with violence.
• She steps in front of Origami during the attack and later checks whether she is hurt.
• Jessica and Lingmeng face off after the rest of the team falls; Lingmeng’s offer of mercy ends the confrontation, though Origami’s final warning interrupts the apparent resolution.