Itsuka Shido felt as if he had been shoved into a high-speed spinning washing machine; the dizzying, world-turning sensation had not yet completely faded.
The scene before his eyes abruptly switched from the chaotic battlefield ruins to a pure white space filled with futuristic technology—the teleportation room of the Fraxinus.
The cold air and metallic texture made him shiver, jolting him fully awake.
"Where... is this?" He looked around blankly, the final images still replaying in his mind:
The purple Spirit girl dissolving into light particles, the strange figure in the suit making a shocking declaration, and the suffocating terror of Ellen Mathers's oppressive aura.
"This way, Shido-kun." A calm and gentle female voice sounded, carrying a hint of weariness that she couldn't quite conceal.
Shido turned and saw Murasame Reine standing not far away, still in her white lab coat and heavy dark circles, as if all the recent dangers were merely everyday trivialities.
"Where are we?"
"Welcome to the Fraxinus, Ratatoskr's airship."
Reine explained briefly, gesturing for Shido to follow, "The specific situation, the Commander... will explain it to you personally."
Shido followed Reine in a daze down the wide bridge corridor.
Through the huge observation windows, he could see the outline of Amamiya City below, and the gradually settling smoke from the distant battlefield. His heart was still heavy.
This was not only for the vanished purple-haired girl but also for "Welt," who had stepped forward and whose whereabouts were now unknown.
Soon, they arrived at the main bridge control room. The door slid open, and the sight that greeted Shido made him gape once again.
Massive circular screens displayed complex city data maps and energy replays of the recent battle.
Dozens of crew members were busy at their respective consoles; the atmosphere was tense but orderly.
But the most eye-catching sight was the petite figure seated high upon the Commander's chair in the center—
His sister, Itsuka Kotori.
But the Kotori before him was completely different from the cheerful, innocent sister he knew, the one who would pester him for sibling rice bowls.
She was chewing on her signature precious jewel, but her eyes were sharp as an eagle's. She wore a red and black Commander uniform, with black thigh-high stockings beneath a white pleated skirt.
Most noticeable was the pure black ribbon tied in her hair. Her entire being exuded an unquestionable aura of authority and composure.
"Yo, finally awake? What a worrisome Onii-chan."
Kotori turned her head, her tone carrying a hint of her usual teasing, but deep in her eyes was a subtle, unmistakable sense of relieved relaxation.
"Ko... Kotori?! What exactly is going on?! Where is this? That strange girl? And that... man?"
Shido's questions exploded like a rapid-fire cannon, the information overload nearly crashing his brain.
Kotori sighed, tapping the armrest lightly with the conductor's baton in her hand: "Honestly, asking endless questions the moment you wake up. To make a long story short, this is my territory, Ratatoskr, an organization dedicated to solving the Spatial Quake problem through peaceful means. We are not like the militant AST."
She paused, her expression instantly becoming serious, and pointed the baton at the main screen, which was frozen on the moment "Welt" pushed up his glasses; the sight of his suit was highly impactful on the large high-definition screen.
"As for you, my foolish Onii-chan, do you know how dangerous your actions just now were? You actually dared to stand directly between a Spirit and DEM's 'World's Strongest'? If it weren't for this 'Fourth Spirit' suddenly intervening, plus us quickly reeling you in, there wouldn't even be ashes left of you now!"
Reine, standing nearby, supplemented the statement matter-of-factly, her tone completely flat, as if reading an experiment report:
"Preliminary calculations show that the closest distance between Ellen Mathers's light blade and you was 1.42 meters. The scattered energy was sufficient to cause massive somatic cell collapse within 0.03 seconds. Survival probability was less than 0.01%. Shido-kun, your actions lack basic risk awareness."
Shido was drenched in cold sweat from their words, and the delayed sense of terror seized him. He lowered his head, his voice softening: "I... I just couldn't stand by and watch her get..."
"So you chose to turn into ashes yourself?" Kotori interrupted him impatiently, but seeing her brother's look, her tone softened slightly.
"Forget it, we'll discuss the details later." Kotori's tone was decisive and brooks no argument. "First, confirm your physical condition. Are you injured anywhere?"
"Uh... no, I'm not..." Shido answered subconsciously, still trying to process the situation before him.
"Good." Kotori nodded, turning her gaze back to the main screen.
The screen was replaying the final moments of the battle, focusing on the figure in the suit making his declaration of war, and the scene where he caused chaos and vanished.
"Alright, let's get down to business." Kotori used her lollipop to point at "Welt" on the screen. "What are your thoughts on this newly appearing Spirit?"
"Thoughts..." Shido looked at the strangely dressed yet somehow reassuring figure on the screen, his feelings complicated. "He... he was very powerful... and it looked like he was protecting me and that girl? He also said a lot of strange things, about the Spatial Quake, about thirty years..."
"Protecting you? Perhaps that was part of it. But his actions themselves have already caused greater chaos and uncertainty."
Kotori analyzed calmly, "Furthermore, he declared war on everyone 'concealing the truth,' making his position extremely dangerous. We must find a way to 'deal with' him before he causes greater destruction."
"Deal with him?" Shido's heart tightened. "What does that mean?"
Kotori didn't answer directly. Instead, she stood up from the Commander's chair and walked over to Shido, looking at him with a serious expression:
"Shido, what I am about to tell you is extremely important and directly concerns you. Prepare yourself."
Shido was awed by his sister's unprecedented seriousness and nodded involuntarily.
"First, the 'Princess' you saw, and just now, that 'Welt,' they are called 'Spirits.' When they manifest, they trigger a Spatial Quake, which is the source of the alarms."
"Second, the goal of Ratatoskr is not to eliminate the Spirits by force like the AST. Our principle is—to communicate with Spirits and resolve the Spatial Quake problem peacefully."
"Communicate... peacefully?" Shido seemed to see a ray of hope.
"Exactly." Kotori confirmed, then changed the subject, "And the key to achieving this goal lies with you, Itsuka Shido."
"Me?" Shido pointed to himself, completely unable to understand what an ordinary high school student like him could do.
"Through analysis, we discovered that you possess a special power within your body." Kotori's gaze seemed to pierce right through him. "A power capable of... 'sealing' a Spirit's power."
"Se... sealing?" Shido was even more confused. "How do I seal it?"
"The specific mechanism is complicated, but the method is simple."
Kotori's tone was as casual as if she were commenting on the nice weather: "You need to make the Spirit develop feelings for you, ideally... fall in love with you. Then, through 'kissing,' you can seal the Spirit power within her body. Once sealed, the Spirit will no longer be a Spatial Quake-causing disaster and can live in the world as a normal human."
"... Huh????!!!!!!!!"
Shido's mouth formed an O shape, and his brain felt as if it had been struck by lightning, completely crashing.
(Ki... kissing?! Sealing Spirits?! Me?!) (What... what kind of power is this?! This isn't the setting for some light novel protagonist?!)
Shido's face instantly turned bright red, and steam nearly erupted from his head! He suspected there was something wrong with his ears!
"Make... make a Spirit fall for me?! And... and kiss... kiss, kiss, kiss them?! Seal their power?! How is that possible?! What kind of ridiculous GalGame setting is this?! Kotori, you must be joking! Today isn't April Fool's!"
"This is the verified, only feasible peaceful method." Kotori ignored her brother's explosion of embarrassment, her tone unwavering. "The Spirit 'Princess' you interacted with earlier was our first target. But now..."
Her gaze returned to the frozen image on the screen of "Welt" pushing up his glasses (the suit looked even more visually striking on the high-definition screen), and her tone became slightly nuanced and... tricky.
"... We have encountered a second, extremely special target. His temporary codename is Reason Law or Anti-Entropy. His danger and uncertainty far exceed that of the 'Princess,' but his willingness to intervene while knowing the inside story also means that dialogue might be possible."
Kotori turned around and lightly tapped Shido's chest with her lollipop, her expression one of unprecedented seriousness and... a hint of barely noticeable sympathy?
"Therefore, Brother. Your next mission objective is to find a way to approach this Spirit who calls himself 'Welt,' gain his affection, figure out his goals and the information he knows, and at the appropriate time..."
Kotori paused, looking at Shido's expression, which was already petrified and cracking, yet she still delivered the mission that was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Shido:
"... Seal his power through a kiss."