“Dangerous? I don’t know why Miss Origami would think we’re dangerous.”
Wanmie sneered as she spoke, putting on a calm front, but inside she was in a total panic.
She was sure Origami’s combat power was something she’d experienced firsthand more than once.
If she showed any fear now, not only would Origami not go easy on her, she might even call for reinforcements, making escape nearly impossible.
More importantly…
Shinomiya was still hiding behind her, trembling.
How could she back down at a time like this?
In front of her, even if she died, she’d die with dignity—never surrender!
Origami let out a cold snort, disdainful.
“Don’t you realize the harm you’ve caused? Because of you, countless people die in Spacequakes every year!”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
Wanmie shrugged, her smile growing even brighter, but without a hint of warmth.
“And even if it was, what would you do about it?”
“You!”
Provoked by Wanmie’s words, Origami immediately readied herself to charge, prepared to subdue Wanmie at any moment.
But just as Origami was about to take her first step, Shiori suddenly hugged her from behind.
“Origami, are you trying to trigger a Spacequake?!”
With Shiori’s shout, Origami calmed down a little and stopped moving.
Before everyone in the area had fully evacuated, using force against Wanmie and Shinomiya could cause them to unleash their powers, possibly triggering a Spacequake.
Even putting aside whether Origami alone could face Wanmie and Shinomiya together, dragging thousands of people into disaster was already a serious problem.
“Sorry, I lost my head. Thank you, Shidou.”
Origami took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart, then realized Shiori’s arms were still around her.
On her usually expressionless face, a rare blush appeared.
“Shidou, if possible, please never let go.”
“Uh… what?”
In his cross-dressed state, Shidou tilted his head, only then realizing he was still holding Origami’s waist.
His face turned bright red and he quickly let go.
“S-s-sorry, Origami! I didn’t mean to!”
After Shiori released her, Origami’s face remained blank, but her eyes looked strangely lonely.
This…
Not far away, Wanmie watched their interaction with envy.
If she had the chance, she wanted to have this kind of physical contact with Origami too!
At the same time, she couldn’t help but sigh at Shidou’s lack of courage.
If it were her, unless the sky was falling… no, even if it was, she still wouldn’t let go!
“Yo, Shidou, I didn’t know you were this bold~”
Through the earpiece, Kotori’s cheerful voice sounded.
Shiori quickly lowered her voice to explain.
“I had no choice. If Origami charged in, everything would be over!”
At that moment, Kotori, sitting in the Fraxinus Command Room, pulled an Apple-flavored Lollipop from her mouth and looked at Shidou and the others on the big screen.
“I’m just teasing you. No need to be so serious. Back to the point—if you don’t figure out a way to get Abysm and Hermit out of there, AST will arrive soon.”
Although Origami had just been provoked by Wanmie, she hadn’t forgotten to urgently contact AST.
At their speed, they could be there in less than ten minutes.
At the same time, the area around the mall where Wanmie and Shinomiya were was being evacuated.
Once the Spacequake Alarm sounded, AST would descend from the sky, and escaping would become impossible.
“I’ll think of something.”
Shiori replied.
But… how could she convince Origami to let the two of them go?
Shiori stared at Origami, still facing off with Wanmie, and fell into thought.
What could distract Origami?
Come to think of it, Origami seems pretty obsessed with me…
It wasn’t self-flattery—it was a fact.
Origami’s obsession with Shidou was evident even before Shidou confessed to her.
She even tried to keep used erasers and straws he used…
Well, maybe obsession was the wrong word—maybe perverted was closer.
But Origami’s feelings for Shidou were undoubtedly real.
So now…
“Ah! My stomach hurts!”
As Origami and Wanmie faced off, Shiori suddenly clutched her stomach and collapsed to the ground, her face twisted in agony.
Her expression of pain was so convincing it looked real.
Yatogami Tohka immediately helped Shiori up, panic on her face.
“Shidou, Shidou, what’s wrong?! Do you need to go to the hospital?!”
Origami was also drawn over by Shiori’s screams, quickly moving to Shiori’s other side.
“Shiori, don’t worry, my colleagues will be here soon. They have professional doctors. Just hold on!”
What is happening here?
Wanmie looked at the collapsed Shiori, confused.
Though Shiori’s performance was convincing, not a drop of cold sweat came out despite all that agony.
Did she think she was an idiot?
With such acting skills, it’s a waste she’s not in show business…
While Origami and Yatogami Tohka were both worrying over Shiori, Shiori quickly shot Wanmie a look.
Wanmie instantly understood the meaning behind Shiori’s actions and nodded.
Seeing that Wanmie had caught on, Shiori amped up the performance.
“Ow, it hurts! I’m dying!”
Shiori rolled on the ground, heedless of dignity, her skirt riding up.
This drew quite a few male onlookers who started taking pictures.
If not for the safety shorts she wore underneath, who knows how Shidou would feel if he saw his own lower half being photographed and spread online…
“Shidou, Shidou, don’t die! Don’t die!”
Yatogami Tohka, with her simple nature, quickly took the performance as real, while Origami frowned, mind racing for ways to ease the pain.
“Shidou, hold on. If it gets worse, I have a method to relieve pain you can try.”
As an AST member, Origami had undergone countless professional trainings.
Even though Shiori’s acting was top-notch, with a clear head, it wouldn’t be hard to tell it was fake.
But, even so, she couldn’t link Shiori’s actions to acting.
Her head was too full of worry over Shiori having some sudden illness.
She was already thinking that, even if Shidou had a fatal disease, she would stay with him forever…
While Origami’s attention was on Shidou, Wanmie quickly grabbed Shinomiya and slipped into the crowd.
At that moment, the Spacequake Alarm sounded, and Wanmie led Shinomiya into a shelter, narrowly escaping disaster.
On the way to the shelter, Wanmie was very curious about how Shiori would explain all this later.
If she ever met him again, she would have to ask.