"Ahh... I feel so tired today..."
Sitting on a bench inside the Ratatoskr rest lounge, Shidou let out a long sigh. He brought the paper cup to his lips and downed the coffee in one gulp.
Though it was called a "rest lounge," the space wasn't very large. It was just an alcove along the hallway wall with a few types of vending machines (all free), two benches placed nearby, and a couple of tall potted plants. A very plain, simple area.
There was a proper cafeteria with better facilities elsewhere, but Shidou preferred places with fewer people passing by—especially on days like this, when he was completely worn out.
"Good thing today was only training... If this were the real date, I don't think I'd manage to complete the mission even if I gave it my all..."
Today, under Reine's arrangement, Shidou was forced to go swimsuit shopping with Tohka, Yoshino, and Origami (the last one not invited by Reine). Predictably, Yoshino completely broke down during the process.
In the end, Shidou bought each of them a swimsuit as a gift, and after they had lunch together, everyone went home.
After that, Reine called him in again to reconfirm the plan. Even though Tohka and Yoshino invited him to dinner, his discussion with Reine still took quite some time.
Honestly, Shidou wanted to talk with Kotori again, but since her condition was still unstable, that request was denied. So, until tomorrow, all he could do was wander aimlessly and kill time in places like this.
"..."
He stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed softly.
Until just now, he hadn't really felt anything off—but once he finally had some quiet time to himself, unpleasant, anxious thoughts began surfacing.
Specifically—the words Origami had said yesterday.
"Five years ago, the spirit who summoned the great fire that burned down the residential district of Minowa in Tenguu City—the one who killed my parents before my eyes—was the Spirit of Flames."
"Could it... really have been... Kotori...?"
Kotori.
Shidou's little sister—the one who supposedly killed Origami's parents.
It was something too unbelievable to accept.
And yet... Origami wouldn't lie.
"What... what's the truth behind it all...?"
Whenever he tried to recall the events from five years ago, a sharp, itchy pain welled up from deep within his mind—somewhere just out of reach.
"Ugh..."
That's right. Shidou still couldn't remember what exactly happened that day.
—What really happened five years ago?
—How did he or Kotori even learn how to seal a Spirit's power?
He couldn't remember any of it.
"Uh, Shidou-kun, mind if I sit next to you?"
A man's voice suddenly came from above, making Shidou's shoulders twitch.
He looked up—Kanmizuki Kyouhei was standing there, holding a paper cup.
"Ah... please, go ahead."
As Shidou said this, Kyouhei smiled and took a seat beside him.
When he wasn't acting like a total maniac, Kyouhei could actually be quite reliable—and even handsome.
"So? Shidou, are you feeling confident about tomorrow's plan?"
"N—not really... Honestly, I'm very uneasy. I can't imagine how I'm supposed to make Kotori fall for me. I still can't even believe I somehow sealed her powers five years ago—"
Halfway through speaking, Shidou suddenly stopped.
"? What is it?"
"Ah, uh... well..."
Shidou briefly explained how he still couldn't remember anything about the incident from five years ago, summarizing the little fragments he did recall.
"I see... memory loss, huh..."
"Yes. For some reason, that's the only thing I can't remember at all..."
"Hmm, so that's how it is."
Kyouhei brought the paper cup to his lips and said quietly:
"Actually, when we first explained to the Commander that she was a Spirit, she looked genuinely shocked. If she really remembered what happened back then, I doubt she'd have reacted that way."
He set the cup down on the bench and rested his chin on his hand, as if something had occurred to him.
"Hmm... If you don't mind, how about I show you a certain video?"
"Video...?"
Shidou frowned.
"Yes. It's a recording of the fire that broke out in Minowa five years ago. It's only a few seconds long, but both the Commander—already in Spirit form—and you appear in it."
"—!"
Shidou froze, eyes wide open. Thankfully, he'd finished his coffee, or he might have dropped the cup right then.
"There's... there's footage of that!?"
"Yes. I believe it was filmed by a TV station's helicopter—but before it could be broadcast, Ratatoskr confiscated the original tape. I can get it ready for you."
"P-please... I'm begging you!"
Shidou nodded immediately without hesitation.
---
"Origami! If you've already been discharged, you should have contacted us right away."
After parting ways with Shidou and the others, Origami went to the Tenguu City garrison base before heading home.
The one who greeted her was AST Captain Ryoko Kusakabe.
She was wearing work pants and a black tank top, a clipboard tucked under one arm and a pen in the other hand—apparently checking some sort of delivery list.
Because the CR-Unit was a delicate and highly classified device, very few people had clearance to handle it. Even as the AST's field commander, Kusakabe often had to personally deal with such logistics.
Origami lowered her gaze slightly and shook her head.
Meanwhile, a large, heavy-duty transport vehicle approached, hauling some kind of massive equipment secured with restraints.
"Whoa there. Hey, Origami, you'd better step aside for a bit."
Ryoko waved her over while speaking.
At that moment, Origami glanced at the equipment being carried past her. It was an enormous unit, over five meters long, bound tightly by protective straps.
"? What's this?"
Hearing Origami's question, Ryoko answered while scribbling on the clipboard.
"Oh, this? It's a new experimental model we just received—DW-029 Tactical Equipment: White Licorice. It's got twin large energy blades (Cleaveleaf), dual 50.5-caliber mana cannons (Blaster), and eight modular weapon containers (Rootbox). Basically, it's an insane setup that gives one soldier the firepower of an entire AST squad."
"..."
Origami said nothing. Her eyes followed the massive weapon with an unreadable calm.
"If we used that... could we defeat Efreet?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Ryoko continued writing as she answered casually:
"You can't use that gear. You don't have authorization—or the ability. It's an experimental machine sent directly from DEM Industries. Theoretically, sure, it's powerful enough to kill a Spirit."
"!!!"
Origami's eyebrows twitched at the words 'kill a Spirit'.
"But... according to reports, DEM's own Wizards who used it ended up half-dead after just thirty minutes of full deployment. I'm not going to let you near it. For your own good, drop that idea."
"...Why would that kind of weapon even be here?"
"Apparently some bigwig at DEM thought Mana might be capable of operating it, so they shipped it here... though she's still in a coma, so it's not exactly usable right now."
"I see."
"Anyway... Efreet, huh? The Spirit of Flames from five years ago? Why bring that up all of a sudden? We haven't seen any trace of Efreet since then—"
Then Ryoko seemed to realize something.
Origami noticed her change in tone and turned toward her.
"Ah... I see—so that was Efreet, wasn't it?"
"...What do you mean?"
Origami frowned slightly, stepped closer, and pressed her question sharply.
Startled by Origami's intense demeanor, Ryoko stepped back a bit, stammering:
"W-what's with that look? Why are you suddenly so worked up..."
"Don't ask—just tell me. Quickly."
"Ugh... It's just that when you and Mana fought Nightmare on the school rooftop the other day, another Spirit appeared, right? That was Efreet, wasn't it? The Spirit of Flames?"
"—!"
Origami held her breath and leaned in even closer.
"How do you know... that the Flame Spirit appeared that day?"
"Uh, well, because... I saw it on video..."
"...!"
Origami's eyes went wide.
"Captain Kusakabe."
"W-what is it? Why are you looking at me like that..."
"Please. Show me that footage—now. Immediately."