"Th-that… In-Tsukiyo-chan. Why are we at a store like this?"
Shiori looked at everything before her, cold sweat beading on her forehead. She felt like she had come to the most inappropriate place.
"Why? Of course, it's because I'm very interested in this kind of store. After all, I'm quite good at these things."
Ignoring Shiori, who was sweating profusely, Inaba Tsukiyo walked up to a model sword, picked up both the sword and its hilt, and placed them at her waist.
To avoid attracting the Police Uncle, Inaba Tsukiyo had stored her Mikazuki Munechika in Imaginary Space, ready to retrieve the weapon if needed.
This was a sword shop for cosplaying various anime characters. It was said that one could order character-specific weapons here, but they were all unsharpened.
Since there was nowhere else to go, Inaba Tsukiyo remembered this shop and was curious to see what kind of things they sold.
"Ugh!"
Shiori swallowed hard, unable to help but take a few steps back, putting a safer distance between herself and Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Hmm? Your heart is beating very fast, Shiori. What's wrong? Are you worried I'll cut you with a sword?"
"Uh, h-how could that be? I believe Tsukiyo-chan wouldn't do something like that. Haha~ Hahahaha~"
"Hehe~ Your words don't match your true feelings at all, Shiori. Since a model sword scares you, I'll just look at bamboo swords. It seems like you can also order Kendo Club bamboo swords here."
Picking up a bamboo sword that felt comfortable in her hand, Inaba Tsukiyo moved to a more open area and assumed the Right Dragonfly starting stance.
The moment she made this movement, Shiori clearly felt a change in Inaba Tsukiyo's aura.
She felt that Inaba Tsukiyo was an unsheathed weapon, capable of striking her at any moment.
Just as she finished that thought, Inaba Tsukiyo suddenly opened her eyes, her body instantly vanishing from her spot as she charged towards Shiori, the bamboo sword in her hand maintaining a thrusting motion towards Shiori's face.
Completely unprepared, Shiori stared blankly as the bamboo sword stopped mere centimeters from her, the wind pressure from the thrust stinging her face.
"Ah!"
By the time Shiori reacted, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground, Inaba Tsukiyo had already retracted the bamboo sword and reached out to help Shiori, who was on the floor.
"It seems I scared you a bit. It's been so long since I held a bamboo sword, I couldn't help but want to try to recall the old feeling."
How many years had it been? It seemed she hadn't fought with a bamboo sword since she acquired Mikazuki Munechika, had she?
Her memories of practicing with a bamboo sword were from her experiences as Inaba Tsukiyo in her original world.
"D-don't scare me, Tsukiyo-chan. I really thought you were going to stab me just now."
Shiori said, a little aggrieved. Her legs still felt weak, and she could barely stand.
However, she was astonished by Inaba Tsukiyo's swordsmanship. To be able to approach her in an instant, was it because she was a Spirit that she could perform such a move?
"No… she didn't use Spirit energy. That move of hers was entirely based on her physical abilities."
Murasame Reine on the Bridge denied Kotori's guess. The machines detected no fluctuations in Spirit energy; Inaba Tsukiyo's thrust was achieved purely through her physical prowess.
"Her own physical capabilities? That's right, a Spirit's physical strength can indeed reach that level. It seems she's been diligently studying human combat methods during the time we didn't know."
"…Um, Commander. I have a different opinion."
At this moment, Kannazuki Kyohei, the masochistic Vice Commander, spoke up, his gaze filled with unprecedented seriousness.
"Her attack, even a human could achieve it. And the moment she moved, she used a certain technique."
Kannazuki Kyohei operated some controls, and the previous footage reappeared on the screen—the scene of Inaba Tsukiyo charging towards Shiori.
It wasn't a simple sprint, but a sprint with a certain technique. This movement was slowed down by Kannazuki Kyohei hundreds of times, allowing him to capture Inaba Tsukiyo's actions.
"With training, even an ordinary person's physique can achieve this level. Although I don't know if my guess is accurate, the opponent seems capable of fighting people equipped with visualization devices even without using Spirit powers."
"Oh? What about you? If you put on a visualization device, can you fight her without her using Spirit energy, Kannazuki?"
Kotori asked curiously. Don't let Kannazuki Kyohei's masochistic tendencies fool you; this guy was once the ace of the AST, a true master.
Every master has some unique hobbies. For example, Kannazuki Kyohei particularly enjoyed being physically assaulted by others. Perhaps he even used medicated oil on himself when he went home to study.
"Although I'd like to say I could win, the opponent's information is unknown. She cannot be measured by ordinary standards. Perhaps, without our knowledge, she has already cultivated her swordsmanship to a level unreachable by even grandmasters."
Even without using her Spirit powers, Inaba Tsukiyo still had the confidence to challenge a Spirit, let alone when she used her abilities.
Inaba Tsukiyo introduced to Shiori that the swordsmanship she had mastered was called Pill Self-Manifestation Style. She had mastered Iaijutsu, which emphasized striking first and killing with one blow.
"Oh right, there's something I'm curious about. After I learned that Shiori understood how to capture Spirits through GALGAMEs, I also looked into that kind of knowledge. I have to say, Japanese anime culture is truly amazing."
"Yes, when I first learned about these things, I was really startled. And many The Boys in our class treat the virtual girlfriends in a certain mobile app as their actual girlfriends."
"Mm-hmm~ Boys like that are unwanted. I remember there's a saying online, something about how these Boys' right hands are their girlfriends."
"Their right hands are their girlfriends? Why? Why would they say that?"
Shiori tilted her head, a little confused, wanting to ask.
Not being very familiar with such niche knowledge, she didn't understand what that meme was referring to.
Not only her, but even Kotori on the Bridge, upon hearing Inaba Tsukiyo's words, looked at the Kannazuki Kyohei beside her with confusion.
As a Boy, and someone without a girlfriend, Kannazuki Kyohei should know what Inaba Tsukiyo's words meant, right?
Noticing Kotori's gaze, Kannazuki Kyohei awkwardly coughed a few times, turning his head away without answering the question.
Not just him, but everyone else on the Bridge also turned their heads away, avoiding Kotori's gaze.
Because Kotori was still young, she didn't understand what the right hand meme meant.
Shiori also didn't understand what the right hand meant, and Inaba Tsukiyo didn't explain further, merely chuckling softly, ending the topic.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. Besides these things, I also know something very interesting. It's something called harem anime. The male protagonists in those are exactly like Shiori's situation."
"…"
Shiori's body instantly stiffened. To avoid revealing her panic, Shiori tried hard to calm her heart.
Harem… She always felt that Inaba Tsukiyo seemed to have noticed something, and it was something very unsettling.
"Listen, Shiori. Although my purpose in asking you out this time was just to see your original self, I also don't want you, who is playing with me, to also be dating other people. If I find out about this, do you know what the consequences will be?"
Unconsciously, Inaba Tsukiyo took out a short knife and caressed it in her hand. When a fly flew past, Inaba Tsukiyo directly cut it in half.
Seeing the scene of the innocent fly being cut in half, Shiori only felt as if the one cut in half was herself; it was too terrifying.
The date proceeded smoothly. Although Inaba Tsukiyo had made harsh threats, Shiori still had to go on dates with the other three people, as her meeting times with them had arrived.
Finding an excuse to leave, Shiori quickly ran towards a certain location, teleporting to her agreed meeting spot with Kurumi with Kotori's help.
Hearing Shiori's footsteps suddenly disappear, Inaba Tsukiyo understood that Shiori had been teleported away, likely to meet with others.
Inaba Tsukiyo sensed a familiar presence nearby. Thinking of Shiori's dating plan, she walked towards the fountain in the shopping center with a mischievous smile.
As Inaba Tsukiyo walked towards that location, Fraxinus was also monitoring Inaba Tsukiyo's movements.
Just as Kotori was about to investigate Inaba Tsukiyo's next route, the screen suddenly showed a lot of static, and the surveillance feed of Inaba Tsukiyo malfunctioned.
By the time the Fraxinus crew repaired it, Inaba Tsukiyo was long gone.
Kotori understood that things were developing in an uncontrollable direction. She feared their plan to stagger the times and have Shiori date four people simultaneously would be disrupted.
Soon, Inaba Tsukiyo arrived near the fountain. Sitting beside the fountain was a short-haired girl, quietly waiting for something.
"Hello, Origami. Who are you waiting for here?"
"! It's you!"
Origami warily distanced herself from Inaba Tsukiyo, her right hand reaching into her bag, alert to Inaba Tsukiyo's every move.
"Hehe~ So tense. Don't worry, with so many people here, I won't do anything to attract attention. Besides, my purpose for coming out this time is to go on a date with Shiori, you know."
"Shiori... a date! Impossible! Shiori clearly agreed to date me! How could she agree to..."
"Why impossible? You just need to stagger the times. You wouldn't fail to think of something so simple, would you?"
By staggering the time and location, Shiori could date several people at once. Origami could easily figure this out.
But even though she understood, what she had initially thought was just a personal date with Shiori had turned into so many complications.
"How about it? Want to do something together? I don't intend to harm Shiori; I just want her to know the price of toying with a girl's feelings. Want to do this together? You probably also want to talk to me about what happened last time, right?"
"...If you're not going to lay a hand on Shiori, I can agree."
"It's settled then."
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