Kamen Rider Date A Live

Page 43

Unlike Yoshino, who spoke shyly, Yoshina spoke very loudly.

"Oh, is that so? It just so happens that Nanoha and the others are all going shopping. It's perfect that you're coming, Yoshino. But Yoshino looks really cute today."

"Ugh! Shido-kun, you're too... Don't focus on just one thing... Yoshino came here for... Waaaaah!!"

"Shi...Shido...Sir! We...we'll go in first!"

Before Yoshino could finish speaking, she was grabbed by Yoshino, whose face was flushed, and then hurriedly ran inside.

"Ugh... really."

Shido was a little speechless. "Didn't I just praise Yoshino?" he thought. "While Yoshino does look cute in those clothes..." (Shido, your training isn't enough!)

"Speaking of which, is Tohka still asleep?"

Muttering to himself, Shido looked up at the luxurious apartment building next to the Itsuka family's house.

The building where Tohka lives is said to be a specially designed residence for spirits. Even if something unexpected were to happen, it wouldn't easily break down.

Of course, Yoshino lives here too, and the spirits sealed by her power will also live here in the future. (Holy crap! This is basically Shido's Crystal Palace!)

However, there is a Chinese saying, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Just as Tohka was mentioned, the automatic door of the apartment where Tohka lived quietly opened, and Tohka walked out yawning.

"Hey! Tohka!"

Seeing Tohka like this, Shido knew that her habit of sleeping in late had kicked in again. (I think it's more like a tea leaf in full bloom.)

"Oh!!! Shidou!"

Upon seeing Shido, Tohka's eyes widened as she shouted.

"Well, let's go to school together today, Tohka."

"Oh!!"

Tohka nodded happily. Being able to express her feelings so frankly was a trait that made people feel embarrassed.

"Oh, right! Tohka, this is today's bento."

"oh oh!!"

Tohka accepted the bento box with a big smile on her face.

"What's for today's dishes!?"

"Today's meal is asparagus and bacon rolls, meat patties with eggs, and macaroni and tomato salad. Oh, and the rice is chicken fried rice!"

Long live the way of the scholar!

Seeing Tohka jumping around because of this, Shido also laughed.

It seems like today has started off quite well.

Eyes' Lecture

Your integrity has returned. But Shido, you're still naive. Heh...

The Fifty-First Meeting: Confusion

After the morning roll call, as soon as Ms. Kozuki left the classroom, Shido took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Kotori's number.

A moment later, the dial tone sounded, and Kotori's voice, slightly delayed, came through the phone.

"Hello—hello, brother?"

Completely different from her previous barbed tone, this was a very relaxed one. It wasn't her commander mode, but Kotori's usual self.

"Hey, Kotori."

"Honestly—why did you have to pick this time? If your phone had rung ten seconds earlier, the teacher would have confiscated it!"

"You should definitely put it on silent mode when you're at school."

"I just forgot a little today~!"

"Pfft pfft~," Kotori said with dissatisfaction.

"So, what is it?"

"Oh. Right, actually..."

As he spoke, Shido glanced at Kurumi.

Despite introducing herself with astonishing statements like "I am a spirit," Kurumi found herself surrounded by a sea of people, bombarded with questions.

It wasn't just students from their own class; even students from other classes gathered to see the legendary beautiful transfer student. It was just like the day Tohka first transferred here.

However, to Shido, Tokisaki Kurumi is not just a beautiful girl... not only is she not human... but she also exudes a murderous aura, the kind that comes from killing at least a thousand people...

Although Shido survives by hunting wild animals in "Man vs. Wild," that's just how humans are. A chef can kill a chicken without batting an eye... but no one can guarantee they can kill someone the first time without batting an eye... After all, killing one's own kind is something humans...reluctantly resist the most...

At that moment, he inadvertently met Kurumi's gaze. Kurumi smiled slightly in his direction, and despite Shido's many thoughts, he still nodded slightly in response.

"elder brother?"

"Oh, it's nothing... A transfer student joined our class today... But, that guy said..."

"what?"

"I am an elf."

"........."

After Shido finished speaking, Qinli fell silent.

Instead, I heard a sound like clothes rubbing together on the other end of the phone. It was like someone changing their hair tie.

"—Please provide more details."

Kotori continued in a tone noticeably different from her previous impression.

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, Tokisaki Kurumi is indeed a spirit, and unlike Tohka and Yoshino, she's a spirit who has completely adapted to life in our world. Because her handwriting—it's impossible to write such beautiful characters without practicing writing regularly. Also, Tokisaki Kurumi's purpose in coming here is very likely me."

"Furthermore... I sensed an extremely powerful killing intent emanating from Tokisaki Kurumi... The intensity of this killing intent... would only be present in someone who has killed at least a thousand people..."

Shido's voice was filled with bitterness. He felt that what he had been holding onto was beginning to crack...

"What!...Shido, anyway, keep the headphones on. I'll go back and inform Reine and the others to investigate Tokisaki Kurumi. Be careful with Tokisaki Kurumi. Deal with her by yourself for now."

"Okay... I understand..."

Just as Shido hung up the phone, the bell rang, signaling the start of the first class.

———AST's base———

A corner of the Tengu AST base. Inside the observation room that oversees all the Reiwa intelligence in the southern Kanto region.

"……impossible…"

AST Captain Ryoko Kusakabe frowned and let out a groan-like sound.

"Are you sure about this?

The man operating the central control console, Ashimura Niso, turned his gaze in this direction, shaking his head as sweat beaded on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry. The precision of the observation equipment here is among the highest in the country."

"……Yeah."

After reviewing the values displayed on the screen again and confirming that there were no mistakes, he let out a deep sigh as if to cast aside his confusion.

The screen displays the scan data of a certain person.

No, using the term "character" might be a bit of a grammatical error.

Regardless, that number represents the calamity that destroyed the world—the elves.

"...An elf transferred to a high school? What a joke."

Yes. This morning at nine o'clock, I received a message from Origami to the base. She requested an investigation because a girl claiming to be an elf transferred into her class.

Despite some skepticism, the girl was scanned anyway, and the results…

Liao Zi wiped his forehead. His sleeves were soaked with sweat. Even though the air conditioning was on, his skin was subtly damp.

This is not without reason. To transfer to high school, one needs not only household registration and resident certificate, but also various other documents.

It's impossible not to shudder at the thought of a dangerous creature with the power to destroy a street with a single finger, yet escaping the observational world here and possessing the knowledge to understand and apply the structure of human society.

"Captain? What are you doing?"

At that moment, such a strange and respectful greeting came from behind.

There was only one team member who would say such a thing. Turning around, I saw Mana standing there as expected.

"……Um?"

Mana put on a serious expression and frowned in disgust.

"—So this is... it really has appeared, <Nightmare>."

"……what?"

Liao Zi snorted in surprise, while Zhen Na Zhou frowned and sighed resentfully.

"Identification name: Nightmare. The most wicked spirit I pursue."

"The most wicked... elf..."

Ryouko repeated the solemn word with a trembling expression. Mana nodded, "Mm!"

"The deaths of at least 10,000 elves have already occurred. If we include the unidentified victims, the number would be several times greater."