He had indeed considered finding a chance to burn it, but no matter what, that notebook was still part of his past.
Even now, though it was embarrassing, there were still quite a few ideas inside that he felt could absolutely be reused next time.
…That was only one reason.
The other reason was that if he tried to burn it himself, Kotori might use Fraxinus’s weird black technology to perfectly restore the ashes back into the notebook filled with his dark history, or even keep a backup copy somewhere to threaten him again when the time came.
It wasn’t impossible.
Since the Realizer was advanced enough to completely rebuild streets, repair school buildings, and restore everything to the tiniest detail after a spacequake, reconstructing a notebook containing a boy’s true feelings probably wouldn’t be difficult either.
Shidou Itsuka couldn’t take that risk.
Even now that he had taken the notebook back, he still didn’t dare destroy it on his own.
Moreover, Kotori hadn’t used up all her bargaining chips yet.
The video of him secretly practicing his self-invented ultimate move 【Secret Technique: Instant Flash Bombardment——】 in his room was still in Kotori’s hands, or rather, stored somewhere on Fraxinus.
If he couldn’t eliminate everything at once, it would be meaningless.
Wiping away the thin layer of cold sweat that had appeared from nervousness with the back of his hand, Shidou Itsuka scanned his room once more and walked back to the door, repeatedly simulating the scene the girl would see the moment she pushed it open.
Line of sight… OK.
Bed… OK.
Wardrobe… OK…
Shidou’s room wasn’t as distinctive as Kotori’s.
The only things worth noting were the bookshelf against the wall and the bedside table that could hold cups and books.
To prevent any sudden accidents, the boy walked over to the bookshelf and began checking whether anything strange had been slipped inside.
One hand on his chin, Shidou carefully examined the gaps between the books, his fingertips dancing across the spines as he moved slowly.
Middle school textbooks with graded test papers tucked inside, manga he used to follow, storybooks his foster parents occasionally bought to soothe his feelings, fairy-tale books he purchased with pocket money to make Kotori happy, cooking and home economics guides he bought to study because his way through meals when his foster parents were often away, manga-drawing guides ranging from beginner to pro…
Books filled with memories weren’t packed up and donated like in ordinary households.
Instead, an extra bookshelf had been set aside just to display them.
Many of them weren’t taken out often anymore, but whenever he cleaned, Shidou would still carefully reorganize them.
Each time, they would bring back special memories.
“…This is…”
His fingertip stopped on a rather thick black album.
There was no title, and the material felt like slightly thick plastic.
His nail tapped the corner with a soft clack.
Shidou pulled out the plastic album he couldn’t immediately place.
The edges were a little dusty; after all, when organizing, he didn’t usually flip every single book, so over time some dust naturally gathered.
He patted the cover.
Still no words, but there was an old cartoon sticker on the front.
Instinctively flipping it open, two photographs immediately met Shidou’s eyes.
“It’s a photo album…”
This should have been in his foster parents’ room, but it seemed that after one of his childish tantrums long ago, the album had ended up on his bookshelf.
In the picture were a calm-looking man and a beautiful woman with neat ear-length hair carrying a handbag.
A young girl and boy stood between them; this was a family photo of the four of them.
The other photo showed Kotori hugging a cartoon plushie while a much younger Shidou struck a cool pose.
The photographer was probably their foster father, Itsuka Tatsuo, because in the background you could see the side profile of their foster mother, Itsuka Haruko, wearing an apron.
“So nostalgic…”
He couldn’t help sitting on the bed, turning the pages slowly, his expression growing gentler as he looked through the album of family memories.
“Hm, I was actually pretty cute back then…”
Of course he was.
School back then wasn’t nearly as vicious; students didn’t make weird rankings based on personal preferences.
With his neat, cute face and precocious, obedient personality, Shidou had been the classic “someone else’s child” that teachers adored.
“…Speaking of which… how long has it been since Kotori and I took a picture together…?”
There wasn’t a clear answer, but as he flipped through the album and noticed how everyone’s faces had changed over the years, he tried hard to recall memories of family trips…
…Probably…
“…Four or five years ago?”
Right, before that fire, their foster parents hadn’t yet started being away so often that they had to ask neighbors to look after the siblings.
Kotori had once said it was Ratatoskr’s protection, but back then, after the fire, Kotori was only seven or eight, still in elementary school, and she had already been recruited by them.
Then they discovered Shidou’s ability to seal spirits…
…But how exactly had they discovered he could seal spiritual power?
Was Kotori really that mature at the time?
“Magical girl… Meru is the strongest!”
“It’s totally unfair to interrupt someone during their transformation, I think…”
“Just say it’s the power of magic!”
The girls’ voices, first close and then drifting away, reached Shidou’s ears.
He snapped back to reality, closed the album, and glanced at the clock on the desk.
“9:30 already…”
Had it been that long?
The anime Kotori loved had already finished, and following the early-to-bed, early-to-rise habit Shidou had drilled into her, she should be tidying up a little and getting ready for a bath around now.
“I need to hurry.”
Closing the album, Shidou slapped both cheeks with his hands to clear his slightly foggy mind, stood up, returned the album to the shelf, and quickly scanned again with his eyes for any other suspicious books that might contain his dark history.
He checked twice, confirmed there were no oversights, let out a breath of relief, stopped thinking about complicated things, walked to the door, and unlocked it.
“WAAAHH——”
Right in front of the door stood a purple-haired girl.
Shidou, who had just relaxed, was startled by the unexpected figure and let out a flustered scream.
“With your current level, if you want to scare me by pretending to be a ghost, you’ll need at least a wig and long fake nails.”
Tilting her head and commenting on the boy’s reaction, Kyoumi didn’t look surprised at all.
With her lazy posture, she resembled a fox narrowing its eyes.
“You’re the one who scared me!!!”
“Hm? Didn’t I say I was going to borrow pajamas from you?”
“That’s true, but—”
“Then let me pick~”
Ducking her head, she slipped under the arm Shidou was using to hold the doorknob and walked straight toward his wardrobe.
“I’m asking, can’t I choose myself!?”
“I’m not yet familiar enough with Shidou’s taste.
If I judge a series of fashion disasters, it might wound your fragile self-esteem, so for now I don’t need your opinion.”
“You’re already wounding it!”