“Then, this pudding!”
“Pudding is dessert; it should be eaten after the meal…”
“Mhm, you make a good point. This perfectly balanced sweetness, the way it melts instantly with such a refreshing sensation—if something like this could be eaten as a meal, humans would truly be living in paradise.”
“Generally, no one eats pudding as a meal…”
Faced with Tohka’s sparkling eyes staring at him, Shidou Itsuka flipped open the menu and simply explained some illustrated dishes to her.
Amid Tohka’s declaration of “I want to try them all!”, he finished ordering with thirty percent unease and seventy percent relief.
Just like how, even if there was still some leeway at home, he’d always buy eggs when they were on sale—since there was a chance for a free meal, Shidou Itsuka would gratefully enjoy it fully.
“The boy is quite a practical person.”
Due to the restaurant’s comped meal, Shidou Itsuka couldn’t boost the girl’s affection by grandly paying the bill.
But that relieved look from the discount did carry a strong homemaking vibe and could similarly add some familiarity points.
“…Ahaha…”
Dryly laughing as he averted his gaze, Shidou Itsuka couldn’t meet the girl’s eyes.
“After all, eating our way here, the funds I can use are only three thousand yen left…”
“Eh? What does that mean?”
“It means because you, Tohka, casually buy and eat so much, I’m almost out of money—”
Asked for the meaning by the main culprit who emptied his wallet, Shidou Itsuka couldn’t help but let out a pained groan.
“Complaining in a date that a girl eats too much is a major deduction; my stupid brother.”
Pointing at the boy’s nose with her Chupa Chups, Kotori Itsuka sighed at Shidou’s foolishness.
If not for Ratatoskr’s support, Shidou might have had to consider washing dishes after eating to cover the bill.
“Mhm, so stingy. Since that’s the case, no choice.”
After a brief thought, Tohka solemnly patted Shidou’s shoulder.
“Wait a moment; I’ll go raise some cash.”
“Just to be sure, how are you planning to raise it?”
“Isn’t there a lot inside that square counter over there?”
Answering the boy’s question, Tohka pointed toward the cash register.
“We already got it comped, so don’t think about robbing!!!”
“Shidou, you’re such a troublesome guy.”
Clicking her tongue, Princess crossed her arms and reluctantly gave up the idea of requisition.
“Mhm… this is also something I’m concerned about.”
Tapping the table with her fingertip, Kyoumi took over the topic.
“Though I want to get to the main point right away, thinking back, the boy and I haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet.”
“My name is Kyoumi, just Kyoumi for now. If you need my assistance, give your name, boy.”
“Assistance… Ah, I’m Itsuka Shidou. Kyoumi… miss? What do you mean by assistance?”
“Call me Kyoumi, and accordingly, I’ll call you Shidou directly.”
“Mhm mhm, me too, me too! I’m Tohka!”
Raising her hand without self-awareness to interject—after all, it was a conversation at the same table; the innocent her might have taken it as an introduction session.
Thus, the gazes of the two spirits nearly simultaneously fixed on the other person who hadn’t spoken.
“W-What… why are you both staring at me…”
The two gazes felt inexplicably burning; caught off guard, Kotori Itsuka glanced left and right, but her idiot brother, who was expected to introduce her, didn’t notice her reaction and stayed silent.
Kyoumi aside, she indeed hadn’t introduced herself to Tohka.
Princess’s gaze still carried some wariness, quickly making the girl realize something.
“…I’m Itsuka Kotori. Hmph… I’m this hopeless guy’s little sister. Is that enough?”
Though she seemed somewhat dissatisfied, the girl’s tone wasn’t that aggressive; instead, it gave a sense of “this should do” compromise.
“Eh? Shidou’s little sister?! But you two… don’t really look alike?”
“…We’re not blood-related! Skip this topic, skip it—”
Feeling helpless against Tohka’s straightforward circuit, but more than dwelling on this, like Shidou, Kotori was more concerned about what Kyoumi meant by “assistance.”
“You two are quite similar in this aspect; you look pretty well-matched too.”
“W-Well-matched… W-What nonsense are you saying?!”
“Kotori and I aren’t that kind of relationship! Just normal siblings!!”
“…Mhm, Kyoumi has a point. Looking now, you do seem alike…”
Their simultaneous rejection suddenly woke Tohka up; staring at the plastic lollipop stick in Kotori’s mouth, she nodded in agreement as if remembering something.
“Jeez, get to the point already!”
For some reason blushing, selectively ignoring the earpiece voice saying 「Kotori, your affection toward Kyoumi and Tohka is rising too fast」, the girl inexplicably glanced at her brother and cleared her throat.
“Yes yes, my cute Kotori-chan~”
Finding the girl’s reaction amusing while further confirming her inner guess, Kyoumi deftly waved her fingertip.
The girl’s emotions were somewhat unstable, so she didn’t object to this intimate tone.
“According to your terms, to avoid continued pursuit by those mechanical troops and let spirits live normal lives like humans,” to make it understandable for Tohka too, Kyoumi avoided professional terms like AST or self-defense force, “that is, by sealing spiritual power, spirits won’t be detected by those guys’ spirit waves.”
“Simply put, it’s entrusting our power to you in exchange for a normal human life. Is there anything in my explanation that needs correction?”
“…Mhm? Sealing? Normal human life?”
Surprised by the topic, Tohka turned to the blue-haired boy in astonishment.
“We can live like humans… like this now? Eating kinako bread every day, without those annoying robots chasing us?”
“Ah… eating kinako bread every day would get tiring… But spirits can live normal, ordinary lives without being hunted. I promise, Tohka!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Really really?”
“Really really!”
“Then there’s nothing that needs correction.”
Kyoumi patted the table, preventing the question girl’s triple follow-up.
“But Shidou, you haven’t shown the power to protect spirits before; even self-protection required spirit help…”
“That’s—”
“Stop, let me finish.”
Speaking before the boy was Kotori Itsuka, who stood up to protect her brother, but Kyoumi had no intention of debating them now because…
“I understand Kotori’s actions. If Shidou can bring me a peaceful ordinary life, then naturally, I wouldn’t mind becoming a power to protect him.”
“I’ll protect Shidou too!”
Interjecting habitually during Kyoumi’s speech, Tohka childishly raised a fist with one hand.
“If someone tries to hurt Shidou, I’ll teach them a lesson!”
“Ah… y-yes…”
Though as a man, being told protection by girls was a bit embarrassing, in terms of combat power, Shidou Itsuka was truly a completely ordinary high schooler—no martial arts, no outrageous physical ability.
Moreover, Shidou Itsuka didn’t think, aside from sudden outbursts like Kyoumi’s, anyone else would threaten his daily safety.
“Then, after answering my question, I will either assist your sealing based on the situation or attack you.”
Attack…
Coming from this spirit, it didn’t make anyone doubt whether she’d suddenly lash out the next second.
Kotori Itsuka clenched her fist, eyes locked on her movements.
Tohka also cast a concerned gaze.
“…What question?”
Swallowing saliva, Shidou Itsuka opened tensely.
“After sealing, what will the spirit become to you?”
The rose-pink pupils reflected the boy’s handsome face, as if trying to see through him, asking the question she cared about most right now.