Chapter 5: A Date!

“Yo, we meet again.”

That day, as usual, Wan Mie was preparing to exchange the Mission Rewards’ Coins for cash to buy some things at the nearby Convenience Store.

But she never expected that just after turning the first street corner, she would run into the person she most wanted to avoid.

“Excuse me, do you have something to say?”

The one speaking to her was a blue-haired boy in a school uniform.

Wan Mie cast him a cold glance, uninterested in engaging in conversation.

Shidou Itsuka—the boy who possessed the power to seal Spirit Power.

It was obvious why Itsuka had come to find her.

“Sorry about yesterday. My companion was too rowdy. I’m Shidou Itsuka. May I ask your name?”

Fishing for information?

Wan Mie wasn’t in the mood to answer.

But since Itsuka had successfully found her, it was clear that the people on Fraxinus were also monitoring her now.

Simply refusing and slipping away wouldn’t be so easy.

Even if she got away today, Itsuka would keep coming back to bother her.

After all, with Ratatoskr’s power, finding her in Tengū City was effortless.

“Ayase Wanmie. And tell everyone on Fraxinus not to disturb my life from now on.”

Since she’d been exposed, she might as well make her stance clear.

Having read the original Date A Live novels several times, Wan Mie was well-versed in all things Ratatoskr.

Itsuka’s expression darkened considerably at her words.

“How does Ayase-san know—”

Itsuka’s voice trembled, his gaze wavering.

Wan Mie’s words had clearly shaken him.

Ratatoskr was an absolutely secretive organization; ordinary people couldn’t possibly know about it!

“None of your business.”

With that, Wan Mie left a baffled Itsuka behind and walked into the Convenience Store.

At the same time, Fraxinus erupted into chaos.

“What?! How could Abysm know about Ratatoskr?!”

Kotori refused to believe Wan Mie’s words.

Kannazuki’s face was equally grim.

During their investigation of Abysm, Kannazuki and the others had already checked her social relations and daily habits.

Besides going out every morning to buy food and going out at night to attack passersby, she was a bona fide shut-in.

How on earth did she know about Ratatoskr?

From her tone, it was clear she knew far more than just the organization’s existence—perhaps even its inner workings.

“Who exactly is this Abysm…”

Click.

Kotori bit down on her lollipop, mumbling quietly.

Abysm was unlike any Spirit they had seen before.

It was as if she knew every secret in the world.

Though her combat ability wasn’t that strong, her danger level was perhaps equal to—or even higher than—Tohka’s.

“Sorry, Commander. It’s my fault for being careless and not investigating thoroughly. Please punish me!”

Kannazuki bowed his head in apology.

But it wasn’t really his fault.

Abysm was a Spirit only recently confirmed.

That they had already uncovered her address, common routes, and social circles in such a short time was impressive.

Kotori had wanted to say “It’s okay,” but after glancing at Kannazuki’s shameless, grinning face, she swallowed the words.

“Commander, do whatever you want with me. If you want to do it yourself, even better…”

Kotori sighed, holding her forehead.

“Someone, take Kannazuki away to cool down!”

As soon as she finished speaking, two muscular men appeared from nowhere, dragging Kannazuki out of the Command Room.

Kotori ignored Kannazuki’s desperate screams and turned to the dark-circled woman standing to her left.

“Reine, immediately retrieve Itsuka.”

“Yes.”

Reine responded simply and left the Command Room.

***

That evening, Itsuka and Kotori returned home feeling dejected.

Although they had discussed at length with everyone on Fraxinus, they still hadn’t figured out a way to handle Wan Mie.

Their moods were naturally not good.

“Itsuka, Kotori, welcome back!”

As soon as they opened the door, a girl with long, jet-black hair greeted them.

Yatogami Tohka, the Spirit Itsuka had recently sealed, code-named Princess, was currently staying at the Itsuka household for observation.

“I’m home.”

Seeing Tohka’s innocent and adorable smile, the gloomy mood hanging over Itsuka and Kotori seemed to be blown away by a strong wind.

Tohka’s smile was like a special magic, capable of erasing all worries.

But now was not the time to relax.

“Itsuka, I made some food today following an online recipe! Want to try?”

“Tohka’s cooking? I’m looking forward to it. But Kotori and I have some things to discuss first. Can you wait a bit?”

“Oh, no problem!”

After sending Tohka away, the two headed to Itsuka’s room.

Kotori immediately took a seat on Itsuka’s bed in her usual commanding tone, while Itsuka sat helplessly beside her.

“Itsuka, do you still want to contact Ayase Wanmie… Abysm?”

After today’s discussion with everyone on Fraxinus, they unanimously agreed to observe Abysm for a while longer.

Her true identity was still a great mystery.

Her attack methods were very dangerous.

Even though Itsuka’s body had the immortal ability of Efreet, surviving Wan Mie’s attacks was nearly impossible.

Still, Itsuka couldn’t stop worrying about Wan Mie.

If the spatial shockwave last time wasn’t deliberate, it meant she couldn’t yet control her power.

Everyone understood how dangerous it would be to leave her unchecked.

“You’ll support me, right, Kotori?”

Itsuka gently stroked Kotori’s head.

Although Kotori’s face showed resistance, she silently accepted her brother’s affection.

“Sigh… You’re hopeless, stupid big brother…”

“I knew you’d support me, Kotori.”

“But I have a condition: if Abysm shows any hostility, you must immediately run to the designated location and return to Fraxinus. Abysm’s attacks can devour even the Domain at will. Efreet’s abilities are completely useless.”

“I promise.”

***

The next day, Monday, Itsuka didn’t go to school.

Instead, he waited outside Wan Mie’s door early in the morning.

Although the report described Wan Mie as a true shut-in, she seemed to go to the nearby Convenience Store every morning to buy a day’s worth of food.

“Ugh… This is terrifying…”

After becoming a Spirit, Wan Mie’s senses had become several times sharper than a human’s.

So the moment Itsuka arrived at her door, she sensed his presence.

She had hoped that since it was Monday, he would leave once she stayed home until he went to school.

But Itsuka stayed there all morning.

She wanted to pretend she wasn’t home.

But Ratatoskr had apparently already figured out Wan Mie’s daily routines.

During that time, Itsuka kept knocking on the door.

Even if Wan Mie didn’t respond, he kept knocking, as if convinced she couldn’t possibly be out.

Knock, knock, knock…

The old security door was constantly being pounded on.

The surrounding walls seemed to vibrate, shedding plaster.

If he kept this up, wouldn’t he break the door?

Wan Mie had lived in Tengū City for a while and knew how expensive everything was.

Given her current earnings from beating up delinquent youths every night, buying a new door would be a huge expense.

Besides, her reputation had spread among the delinquents.

The number of bad kids in Tengū City was rapidly declining, and she couldn’t afford to waste money.

Ding dong~

Suddenly, her phone rang with a clear notification sound.

Itsuka outside seemed to hear it too and knocked even harder.

“Ayase-san, I know you’re inside. Could you please open the door? I just have something I want to talk about!”

Yeah, right! You old fox!

Wan Mie wanted to retort but knew it would only trap her further.

“Sigh… What news does this crappy System have now?”

Wan Mie wanted to smash her phone but reminded herself it was her only source of funds.

She sighed and checked the notifications.

Additional Mission: Date Shidou Itsuka.

Reward: Coins ×100

Mysterious Reward ×1

Additional Missions too?

Wan Mie didn’t quite understand, but the reward was tempting.

One hundred Coins was equivalent to a million yen!

And she was curious what the Mysterious Reward could be.

Since the Mission had appeared, there was no reason not to accept.

Wan Mie quickly walked to the entrance, opened the door, and without caring about Itsuka’s surprised expression, said, “Let’s go on that date!”