Chapter 35: Got Separated?

After being bombarded with a mountain of questions, the Ai, Mai, Mei Trio finally left.

During that time, Shiori and Tohka were also called away, apparently for new work assignments.

It seemed that Shidou had been pretty busy lately, too.

With some free time, Wan Mie took Shinomiya on a casual stroll around the campus, explaining various things about the school.

After all, in her previous life, Wan Mie had been a seasoned otaku and was very familiar with the Japanese school system.

Shinomiya listened intently, her curiosity about everything in the school evident.

Seeing Shinomiya so curious, Wan Mie couldn’t help but ask,

“Shinomiya, if you had the chance, would you want to study at a school?”

Shinomiya lowered her head, thought for a moment, and answered,

“If possible, I’d like to… but, wouldn’t it be troublesome for you, Onee-chan?”

“It wouldn’t be that much trouble.”

If Shinomiya really wanted it, with a little help from Kotori, she could probably be enrolled.

After all, as a massive organization, Ratatoskr could easily handle something like this.

“Thank you, Onee-chan!”

Shinomiya excitedly threw herself into Wan Mie’s arms.

After spending so much time together, Shinomiya had come to see Wan Mie as family, with all her initial awkwardness gone.

However, what Shinomiya didn’t see was that as she dove into Wan Mie’s embrace, a sly, wicked grin—completely unfitting for her usual cold beauty—surfaced on Wan Mie’s face…

As the concert time approached, more and more students filled Raizen High School.

Since the concert was open to the public, anyone with a ticket could attend, so students in various uniforms started to wander the campus.

Of course, most of them were girls, with students from Ryudanshi Girls’ Academy making up a large proportion.

From that alone, it was clear how popular Miku Izayoi was in Ryudanshi Girls’ Academy.

With the growing crowd, Wan Mie kept an eye on Shinomiya at all times, afraid they might get separated.

Raizen High School wasn’t very big—so even if they did get separated, they could find each other easily.

But Wan Mie was worried about something else.

When Shinomiya was with her, her emotions stayed stable.

But once separated, Shinomiya’s timid and shy nature might cause her emotions to fluctuate, leading to spirit power leakage—and a Spacequake.

Miku Izayoi’s concert had attracted a huge crowd—at least ten thousand people had gathered in Raizen High School alone.

If a Spacequake hit now, the casualties would be catastrophic.

And yet, the very thing Wan Mie feared happened.

Before the concert began, Wan Mie held Shinomiya’s hand and waited in line at the front of the stage.

But in the blink of an eye, Shinomiya had disappeared!

“Oh no, I’m screwed…”

***

At the same time, Shiori was helping set up backstage.

“Itsuka-san, can you move this over there, please?”

“Itsuka-san, could you help with this as well?”

“Itsuka-san…”

“Itsuka-san…”

Ever since she was called over, Shiori had been ordered around endlessly, with no time to rest.

On the other hand, Origami, who was also in charge of the backstage setup, was full of energy after seeing Shiori.

What should have taken two hours was done in under thirty minutes, and from time to time she even shot Tohka a provocative look.

“Mmm… Origami, don’t go too far!”

At first, Tohka endured it in silence, but after enduring Origami’s provocations again and again, she finally exploded after finishing most of her work.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Origami looked indifferent, completely ignoring Tohka’s complaint.

She walked over to Shiori with a bottle of mineral water and handed it to her.

“Thanks for your hard work, Shiori.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Origami probably worked even harder.”

Shiori didn’t stand on ceremony and took a sip.

Tohka puffed out her cheeks at their interaction.

“I helped a lot too! Shiori, why are you only praising Origami?”

Shiori gave a wry, awkward smile.

Tohka’s jealous streak really was difficult to handle.

“Tohka, you were amazing too—you helped me a lot. I’ll treat you to some soybean bread later.”

Shiori praised.

A proud smile immediately blossomed on Tohka’s face, and she looked at Origami as if to say, “See, see, Shiori praised me too!”

Of course, Origami didn’t care about Tohka’s boasting and didn’t even change her expression.

The backstage setup was complete.

Once Miku Izayoi arrived, the performance could begin, and Shiori and the others could finally rest after a busy day.

But just then, a petite figure appeared at the edge of Shiori’s vision, and her pupils narrowed.

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Origami noticed Shiori’s abnormality.

Though her face was expressionless, her clear eyes were filled with concern.

Tohka hurried over, worry in her voice.

“Do you want to go to the Health Room?”

Shiori shook her head quickly.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I just remembered there’s something I haven’t finished yet. I’ll be back in a bit.”

With that, Shiori left the backstage area without looking back.

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped outside, she spotted a familiar figure.

“Shinomiya.”

She called out to the cute girl in a dress not far away.

The girl seemed startled by Shiori’s sudden appearance, her petite body trembling.

She timidly turned her head, looking at Shiori with sapphire eyes glistening with tears.

Shiori frowned slightly.

Had Shinomiya gotten separated from Wan Mie?

“Miss Ayase? Did you get separated from her?”

Shiori asked.

Shinomiya nodded.

She had been lining up with Wan Mie at the entrance, but someone must have bumped into her.

When she looked up again, Wan Mie was gone.

Shiori shook her head.

How could Miss Ayase be so careless?

For now, she should take Shinomiya to look for Miss Ayase.

If Origami found her, it could be bad.

Shiori knelt down, smiling gently.

“Then I’ll take you to find Miss Ayase. She’s probably looking for you nearby too.”

Shinomiya looked at Shiori, her eyes flickering.

It wasn’t her first time seeing Shidou’s crossdressed appearance, but she’d only seen it once before and didn’t quite trust Shiori yet.

If Shidou had confessed his identity, Shinomiya might have believed him, but there was no way Shidou would do that now.

Shiori seemed to understand the hesitation in Shinomiya’s eyes and chuckled.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m actually friends with Miss Ayase. I won’t do anything to you.”

Shinomiya’s delicate brows furrowed.

But seeing that Shiori really didn’t have any ill intent, she finally nodded and obediently followed Shiori to search for Wan Mie.