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Spacequake refers to a widespread vibration phenomenon akin to an earthquake occurring in space.
It is a general term encompassing explosions, tremors, disappearances, and many other phenomena of unknown origin, without a fixed time of occurrence, and for which disaster scale cannot be confirmed.
This phenomenon is extremely bizarre, as though a monster appeared out of nowhere to wreak havoc on the streets.
It first emerged around thirty years ago, when the central area of a continent mysteriously vanished overnight, as if carved away.
In this world, even now, you can see photographs related to it in textbooks. After all, about 150 million people were killed or injured during that disaster, making it the largest catastrophe in human history.
For nearly half a year afterward, similar events—though on a smaller scale—occurred around the globe.
However, no further spacequakes occurred or were discovered after that.
But about five years ago, a spacequake occurred in a corner of the newly redeveloped Tengu City. Starting from that incident, a series of strange phenomena of unknown cause took place one after another.
Of course, during these twenty-five years, humanity did not simply do nothing.
Firstly, underground shelters were constructed in nearly every city. There were also methods to detect early signs of spacequakes, and organizations like disaster recovery units within the self-defense forces were formed.
These units were tasked with heading to disaster-stricken areas to repair damaged facilities and roads, and remarkably, their abilities could be described as magical.
In merely a short amount of time—just one night—they could restore completely destroyed streets to their original state.
However, their methods have never been disclosed. It is treated as top secret.
Although the streets can be repaired quickly, that does not diminish the threat of spacequakes. Many still end up in accidents whenever these quakes occur.
…
"Are you sure you want to support me?" Shichen asked Kotori Itsuka and the others to confirm.
He did not care about the lives of strangers in this world. Compared to them, these girls were indeed more important.
"Shichen-nii, how could you not trust me? Besides, these are orders from above." Kotori Itsuka popped a lollipop into her mouth and gave a mischievous grin.
"Someone higher up? They already know about me?" Shichen frowned.
"That, I'm not sure about."
"All right, I'll figure it out on my own… In the meantime, I'll be counting on your support!" Shichen didn't stand on ceremony and declared this to everyone present.
Since people were willing to help freely, there was no need to hold back—he already had a vague idea of the situation, and his future self certainly wouldn't sabotage him.
He had things to do, and he also needed the power of this world's inhabitants, so it was only sensible to accept their assistance.
Besides, he still had mysteries to unravel.
"Oh~ leave it to us!" Kotori answered with a smile.
…
After leaving the Fraxinus, Shichen followed Kotori and was transported to the foot of a red building.
"Shichen-nii, follow me." Kotori bounded into the building with light steps, leading Shichen inside.
"What is this place?" Shichen asked in confusion.
"This is our home, of course."
"Our home…"
"You're not telling me you have nowhere to live, right? So obviously, you'll stay with me."
"What about your parents?"
"They're on a business trip in America."
"No one else here?"
"It's just you and me, Shichen-nii~ Excited?" Kotori teased him as they entered the elevator.
"You little brat. What's there to get excited about?" Shichen chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Hehe~"
Kotori squinted her eyes, quite enjoying the head rub. "I haven't felt Shichen-nii's head pats in so long—I really missed them."
"Head pats… Who refers to them like that themselves?" Shichen shook his head and ruffled her hair again.
"You're the one who taught me that, Shichen-nii."
"Really?"
"We're here. Come on."
When the elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened, Kotori excitedly pulled Shichen's hand and got off.
This building has a one-apartment-per-floor layout. Past a short hallway from the elevator was the entrance door.
Kotori walked up to it. After a quick beep, the door opened.
"Come on in."
"Sure."
Inside was extremely spacious, fully furnished, though it clearly bore signs of only one person living there.
However, near the entrance was a pair of men's slippers perfectly matching Shichen's shoe size.
After changing into the slippers, Shichen entered and looked around. It was obviously far better than his café.
"Shichen-nii, sit wherever you like. This is your home from now on. I'm going to go change."
"Go ahead."
Watching Kotori head to an inner room, Shichen went over to the sofa in the living room and sat down.
He still wasn't used to how casually intimate Kotori was with him. Just how long had his future self known her? What had he changed?
Most importantly—was Kotori still a Spirit?
Kotori also possessed a Divine Fragment, but it couldn't be directly obtained through any mission.
For now, it was inaccessible.
It was the same situation as with Chisato Nishikigi.
Initially, he hadn't known how to obtain the divine fragment from Chisato, but seeing Kotori's circumstances had given him a clue.
Apparently, he'd need to go back to the past to acquire it.
He didn't know when that Familiar would awaken, so he had to rely on a Spirit's power.
It wasn't all that different from how this world originally dealt with Spirits—his task was still to make them fall in love!
Even though Ratatoskr had been established for his sake, the plan to deal with the Spirits had been decided long ago. It was also possible that his future self had proposed this plan in the past.
After all, it perfectly matched his intentions.
In this world, not going on dates and making them blush just wouldn't be right.
They had to fall in love to discover the world's beauty—and the reason it was his job was because he was unique.
So said Kotori, and so said those above her in Ratatoskr.
Shichen also knew he was special. He could neutralize Spirit Power and Angel attacks. There was no one more suited to this mission. But did those above know of his abilities?
Maybe there was something else special about him, but he had to find the answer himself.
Although they wanted to protect the Spirits, Ratatoskr was not diametrically opposed to humanity, and it was necessary to address the spacequake issue as well.
Because they still weren't sure if the Spirits could freely control the occurrence of spacequakes, conversing with them and persuading them was part of the mission.
Unfortunately, due to the AST, the Spirits harbored hostility toward humans, which made communication difficult.
The AST—Anti-Spirit Team—were a group of modern magicians equipped with mechanical armor to hunt, capture, or kill Spirits, more powerful than ordinary humans but not quite monsters.
Ratatoskr is the opposite of the AST. While the AST tries to solve the issue at its root, Ratatoskr aims to turn the Spirits into allies.
Ultimately, the idea is to make them fall in love. Once they truly like you and are utterly devoted, they become one of your own, and you can communicate with them properly.
Love truly is incredible. The Shichen who hadn't been hit by a meteor would never have believed in such a thing, but after coming to this dimensional world, it's hard not to.
"Shichen-nii, I'm done changing—how do I look?" Kotori ran up to Shichen after changing, proudly twirling around.
She was wearing a school uniform: a white blouse and pleated skirt, exuding a fresh youthfulness. The ribbon in her hair had also become white, lending a pure and adorable air.
"You look really cute." Shichen gave her a thumbs-up.
"Really?"
"Why would I need to lie to you?" Shichen retorted.
"Hehe~ I believe you, Shichen-nii." Kotori happily jumped into Shichen's arms.
"You sure are quick to—"
"Shichen-nii, I've missed you so much." Kotori suddenly said, burying her face in his chest.
"That so?" Shichen gently put his arms around her.
Her voice was tinged with sadness, as if she'd been lonely for ages, waiting for him for ages, and it made his heart ache.
"Shichen-nii, you won't leave me again, will you?" Kotori tilted her head up, gazing at him with longing.
"From now on, I'll stay with you," Shichen said, raising his hand to pat her head.
"You promise, okay~"
"Mm."
"Hehe, that's good." Kotori snuggled against Shichen's chest again.
"Why are you suddenly so clingy?"
"I'm in 'clingy mode' right now."
"You can change modes? How is that different from earlier?"
"I was in commander mode earlier—I had to look authoritative."
"Yet you still jumped into my arms right in front of everyone." Shichen teased.
"T-That's because I hadn't seen you in so long, and I couldn't hold back…"
"I see."
"That's exactly it!"
"All right, back on topic—why the school uniform? Don't tell me you changed just to show me?"
"Shichen-nii likes uniforms, right? Then you can see them every day from now on."
"I never said that," Shichen denied self-righteously.
"Hehe~ Actually, I have to go to school this afternoon."
"Huh? Didn't a spacequake just happen?"
"The school wasn't affected—everyone's used to it. Plus, today is the opening ceremony."
"Oh…"
"Mm… I really don't feel like going; I only just managed to see you again, Shichen-nii."
"It's fine—I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait for you at home, all right? You'll see me as soon as you're back."
"Really?"
"If I'm lying, I'm a dog, deal?"
"Great!"
~~~
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