After walking down a passageway he had never taken before, Shidou arrived before a massive door. The moment Reine stepped up to it, the sound of turning mechanical gears echoed, and the door automatically slid open.
"...All right, go on in."
Inside was a spacious room. At the center stood a large round table, around which several crew members were already seated. It appeared this place was being used as a strategy conference room.
"...Find an empty seat and sit down."
Moving with her usual ghost-like sway, Reine stepped forward and took a seat at an open spot.
Shidou followed her lead and sat beside her.
When he glanced at his side, he saw a small LCD screen and a keyboard set up there. It looked like every seat was equipped with a simple control console.
Then, the man sitting at the far end of the table cleared his throat loudly and stood up with vigor.
Kaminuzuki Kyouhei — the vice captain of the airship Fraxinus, and vice commander of the Ratatoskr tactical unit.
With Kotori currently detained in the isolation ward, he was effectively the highest-ranking officer on the ship.
"Everyone's here, right? Regarding this urgent incident, I—Kaminuzuki—will be presiding over this meeting in place of our adorable commander. Shidou, thank you for taking the time to join us."
"Ah, of course."
Shidou nodded, and Kaminuzuki continued with a satisfied look.
"Then let's get straight to the point. Some of you already know about the commander's condition, while others may have only learned of it through this incident… Though our levels of understanding differ, I hope you'll all give your full cooperation.
—Today's main agenda is to devise the plan for Commander Itsuka Kotori's date with Shidou two days from now. Please share whatever information you have so we can ensure our commander enjoys a truly wonderful day."
After saying this, Kaminuzuki scanned the faces of everyone seated around the room — then took a deep breath.
Up to this point, the meeting still seemed quite normal for a Fraxinus strategy session.
"...Shidou, better cover your ears for a second."
"Huh?"
Reine suddenly whispered to him, leaving Shidou confused.
"——All right, everyone! My beloved Ratatoskr operatives! This matter is of utmost importance to our dear commander! The time has come to repay her kindness! Commander! Commander Itsuka Kotori! Needs our strength! Do you have the resolve to answer her call?!"
"Yes!"
Kaminuzuki's booming voice rang through the room, and the gathered crew responded in unison, shouting just as loudly.
Now Shidou understood why Reine had warned him.
"W–What the heck is this!?"
Ignoring Shidou's bewilderment, Kaminuzuki pressed on.
"Do you want to be praised by our adorable commander?!"
"Yes!!"
"Do you want to see the commander's beautiful smile?!"
"Yes!!"
"Do you want our beloved commander to order you to crawl on the floor while she kicks you with her boot heels?!"
"Yes— Wait, huh!?"
That last one didn't seem to get everyone's agreement.
Still, Kaminuzuki appeared to have entered a sort of manic frenzy.
"Now's our chance! Let's show our love!!"
"Commander! Commander! Commander!"
The entire briefing room descended into chaos. It was no longer a strategy meeting — it looked more like a rabid idol concert.
"..."
This was supposed to be a serious, professional military briefing — and yet, with Kaminuzuki leading this circus, the mood had completely collapsed.
Even in their usual "Spirit-capture" operations, picking this kind of chaos-loving crowd was bad enough, but this was on a whole different level.
Shidou glared sharply at Kaminuzuki, his eyes radiating pure menace.
For a brief second, he truly considered throwing this entire lot to Kurumi or handing them over to Tenqi.
Sensing the unusual intensity in Shidou's eyes, Kaminuzuki quickly toned it down, coughing twice.
"Excellent! Then let's begin the reports! We shall fulfill our commander's hopes and desires — and make her blush with embarrassment!"
"Yes, sir!"
Following his order, the crew began operating their consoles to pull up relevant data.
At last, the meeting began returning to a somewhat normal tone.
Still feeling the ringing in his ears, Shidou sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Wha… what was that just now…"
"...How should I put it… everyone here really adores Kotori," Reine replied.
"I… see…"
A bead of sweat ran down Shidou's cheek.
Maybe it was just him, but he couldn't see how any of this nonsense would help.
From across the round table came another voice. It belonged to a thin man with streaks of gray in his hair — if Shidou remembered correctly, his name was Kanbe, nicknamed "the President" — not the card game one.
"Vice Commander! I request permission to speak!"
"Good! Permission granted!"
"Yes, sir! In any situation, giving gifts is the most basic method! Since we already know the commander's preferences, unlike with other Spirits, we can perfectly tailor our gift! As everyone knows, the commander's favorite treat is Double Crunch! If we could create an original flavor and present it to her—!"
"No! No! No! Too shallow! Do you think our meager knowledge can surpass the commander's love for Double Crunch?! Listen carefully! The things she loves the most are the hardest to give as gifts!"
"M-my apologies!"
"Next!"
"Yes, sir!"
Following the vice commander's call, another crewman stood up — a bespectacled man named Nakatsugawa, also known as the "Dimensional Drifter."
"According to intel from the commander's former middle school classmate, Saotome Kana, the commander has recently become obsessed with a smartphone app about raising pigs—"
"Wait, where did you even get that information!?"
Unable to contain himself, Shidou shouted. Nakatsugawa simply smiled brightly and raised a finger.
"Don't worry! I paid a very generous hush fee! And to protect Ratatoskr's secrecy, I played my role perfectly — as 'a perverted stalker who wants to date little Kotori'!"
"What kind of role is that!?"
Shidou grabbed his head in disbelief. Then, another middle-aged man — Kawagoe, Rapid Burnout Type — stood up.
"Vice Commander, I wish to make a statement."
"Excellent, I'm looking forward to it."
"Yes, sir! ..."
...
Shidou realized he had made a mistake.
He should never have expected these so-called "professionals" on the Fraxinus — who did nothing but cause trouble — to provide any meaningful assistance.
For example, the previous guy had at least suggested something reasonable: taking Kotori to a hot spring, based on a video clip where she mentioned wanting to go. That was fine.
But once the word "mixed bathing" came up, everyone lost their composure.
They even ignored the two-day time limit and proposed a "four-day, three-night continuous operation," ending with Kotori being forced by peer pressure to share a bed with Shidou — to "complete their mission," as they called it.
Shidou had no words left for this madness.
And then, as if that weren't enough, they all started speaking like overprotective fathers, telling him to "take good care of Kotori."
"You're all just a bunch of lolicons, damn it!!"
Shidou took a deep breath, trying to hold back his temper — though a wild beast still roared in his chest.
"..."
Yet, hearing all these ridiculous comments somehow reminded him of what Tenqi had said earlier — to take good care of Kotori.
And thinking about the crew's bizarre, almost fanatical affection for her… somehow, it all felt disturbingly consistent.
"Ugh… so what should we do now…"
Kaminuzuki muttered in frustration. Seeing this, Reine let out a quiet sigh.
"...Sigh. It doesn't have to be that complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"...That's right. Shidou — has Kotori ever said she wanted to go somewhere?"
"Somewhere she wanted to go…?"
"...Yes. Excluding anything you heard through gossip or eavesdropping, tell us a place Kotori mentioned in front of you directly — something she asked you to take her to. That would be ideal."
Shidou pressed his hand against his chin, thinking. A place Kotori had once asked him to take her to…
"Uh… yeah. I can't remember the exact date, but I recall Kotori once said, after seeing a TV commercial, that she wanted me to take her to the Marine Park in Eirabu..."
"...I see. Then let's decide on that." Reine nodded as she spoke.
"I–Is that really okay? I mean, she said that when she was in her little sister mode, not her commander mode."
"Doesn't matter. She's not like Yoshino — she doesn't have a separate personality. The two modes are just different aspects of the same self. If anything, her little sister mode is when she's the most honest with her feelings. Isn't that better?"
"I guess so..."
Even so, Kaminuzuki frowned in disapproval.
"The Marine Park, huh? Well, that is a popular date spot, but this plan lacks specifics..."
The other crew members seemed to share his sentiment. Everyone fell silent, looking uneasy.
Seeing that, Reine blinked — as if an idea had struck her.
"...If we go to the Marine Park, we'll get to see how cute Kotori looks in a swimsuit."
"—!"
At that single remark, the entire room gasped collectively.
And just like that, against all reason, the date plan that would determine both Kotori's fate and that of Ratatoskr — was decided that easily.