"Wuwuwu~ It's so dark here. Is it really okay?"
Following the address in the email, Shiori arrived near the designated location. It was a very dim alley, almost deserted.
The place she was supposed to go was the warehouse behind this alley.
Because it was completely dark and there were no light sources around, it was very dim. If not for her phone's flashlight, Shiori wouldn't dare to approach such a place.
Shiori also had a backup plan. Although she didn't tell Kotori about the email as per their agreement, she also didn't tell Kotori that she was going out.
She usually cooked dinner herself. If Kotori found out she hadn't come home, she would definitely notice something unusual.
Then, using the power of the Bridge, she would definitely be able to find her and rescue her.
"Hello~ Is anyone really here? I've arrived, come out quickly!"
With a desperate resolve, Shiori stood inside the warehouse, shouting as loudly as possible at her surroundings.
[Bang!]
After Shiori shouted, a blinding light enveloped her. The intense light made Shiori raise her hand to shield her eyes.
"Itsuka Shido, real name Itsuka Shiori. You have committed an unforgivable sin. Do you know what you have done?"
A familiar voice came, but due to her nervousness, Shiori couldn't immediately recall where she had heard that voice before.
"Wh-What? I... I haven't done anything bad! I... I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
No way, for the past decade or so, Shiori had always been a law-abiding citizen. How could she have committed a mistake?
Oh, right, this scene is somewhat similar to an interrogation room when the police question a suspect. So, they're treating her like a criminal and interrogating her!
"Hmph! Still not admitting it! Then I'll show you what you've done!"
The light shifted, and a screen appeared in front of Shiori, displaying a video of Shiori and Tohka kissing.
This video played until Tohka's spiritual power was sealed, showing her completely naked.
"You say you want to bring happiness to the Spirits, but in reality, you're just satisfying your own desires. Simply put, you're just a yuri girl, aren't you!"
"Yu-Yuri or whatever, although what I'm doing now can indeed be described that way, what could I do?!"
Who knew that the method she used to seal Spirits was by cultivating affection, and then, when the affection reached a certain level, sealing their powers through a kiss.
"Wait a minute! Your voice... I wondered why your voice sounded so familiar! You're Miss Inaba, aren't you!"
Just that afternoon, she had heard the video Inaba Tsukiyo posted. Shiori realized that this voice was none other than Inaba Tsukiyo's voice!
She hadn't even bothered to disguise it, making Shiori think some pervert had caught her weakness and wanted to do something blush-inducing to her.
"Of course, it's me, but let's not talk about that for now. Let's talk about your problem, Shiori. To conquer a Spirit, you need to gain their affection. To seal a Spirit's spiritual power, you must do it through a kiss. Your goal is to steal all the Spirits' first kisses! Isn't that right! You, with such intentions!"
"But... but I lost my first kiss too! The kiss with Tohka today was also my first kiss, you know!"
Shiori was also infuriated. Others had their first kiss, but wasn't it her first kiss too? She wasn't an easy girl.
For a moment, Inaba Tsukiyo fell silent. She had forgotten about that.
"I don't care! Anyway, you're wrong! You're guilty! You must be punished!"
"You're just..."
Is she not going to be reasonable? She's ignoring the evidence and directly declaring her guilty?
Shiori felt her temper was about to snap. If she weren't no match for Inaba Tsukiyo, she probably would have exploded already.
"Do you really think your kiss with Tohka was your first kiss, Shiori?"
"Wh-What do you mean? A girl's kiss is very important, do you know that? How can you say that wasn't my first kiss! What do you know?"
Are you kidding? A first kiss is very important to a girl! Before meeting Tohka, before preparing to seal Spirits, her sexual orientation was perfectly normal!
Although she had never had a boyfriend, because of her cross-dressing, she had no such experience. At most, she had only read about it in novels.
"Can't figure it out? Then let me ask you, how did that organization behind you know you possessed the power to seal Spirits? If you had never displayed your abilities, how did they discover such a special power?"
"I... I... Oh, right."
Yes, if she had never used this power, how would Kotori have known that she possessed the power to seal Spirits?
In other words, she sealed a Spirit without knowing it? Her first kiss was gone without her knowing?
Well, Shiori thought with a hint of grievance. She felt wronged that her first kiss had disappeared without her knowledge. Could it be that even her chastity had vanished without her knowing?
"Since you have understood your sin, I shall now pass judgment on you, Shiori. Taking a girl's first kiss is a very serious crime."
"But I'm also a girl! Why do I have to be punished too?!"
Shiori was on the verge of collapsing. She felt that Inaba Tsukiyo was messing with her, deliberately forgetting her identity as a girl, just to punish her.
(fuhai: You guessed right, it's just to punish you.)
Shiori nervously closed her eyes, various punishment methods appearing in her mind, waiting for the pain to arrive.
However, after a long while, Shiori didn't feel any pain.
She hesitantly opened her eyes and found that Inaba Tsukiyo had no intention of attacking her.
Just as she thought Inaba Tsukiyo was only joking with her, a buzzing static sound suddenly appeared in the video in front of her. The sound was unclear at first, but it quickly became distinct.
"The wind today is still so noisy, and this ignorant world is filled with a nauseating smell."
Just like an Elementary School Student reciting an essay, Inaba Tsukiyo seemed to be reciting something, but her tone was completely devoid of emotion.
But Shiori's body, as she listened, trembled violently, her pupils widening. She looked up, realizing what Inaba Tsukiyo's so-called punishment was.
"No..."
"I've had enough. Why must I, the Demon Queen, live in this boring world? It's all because of that damn seal, all because of that damn Hero. Hehe~ The power of the seal is getting weaker and weaker. As long as I break this seal, the day I rule the world will soon arrive."
"No!!! I beg you! Please stop! Stop it!!!"
Shiori covered her face, shouting in emotional collapse.
I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die!
Such thoughts filled Shiori's heart, and a strong sense of shame overwhelmed her, making Shiori feel like she might as well die.
Why did Inaba Tsukiyo know the contents of that diary? She remembered that her past black history diary should have been thrown into some unknown corner, or even incinerated at a crematorium.
Shiori's pupils, beginning to doubt life, started to lose their luster. She understood what Inaba Tsukiyo's punishment was all about.
If... if this diary, representing her black history, were to spread online and be seen by others, then her... her despair would spread throughout the world.
Even if no one knew who wrote the diary, this world has no shortage of geniuses, especially in the internet, where geniuses are concentrated. Eventually, someone might discover her identity.
As Inaba Tsukiyo recited, Shiori felt her strength gradually drain from her body, and she slumped weakly onto the cold floor.
I... Itsuka Shiori... because of my sister, cross-dressed for more than ten years. A while ago, my sister threatened me with my black history voice recordings to capture Spirits. Now, a Spirit is punishing me with my past black history diary.
My heart is so tired... The colors of this world turned black and white, just like those old black and white movies.
Indeed... indeed... I really want to die.
"..."
The reciting voice suddenly stopped, and the scene was quiet for a while. Shiori lay motionless on the ground.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap."
Soft footsteps approached. Inaba Tsukiyo, whose voice was heard but not seen, appeared in the warehouse.
She slowly walked up to Shiori, holding a branch she'd found from somewhere, and poked Shiori's body, but there was no movement.
"This... this is... dead?"
Died from shame? Of course, it wasn't that exaggerated. Did she lose heart? Was she filled with despair for this world?
Even if she was filled with despair for this world, she should have committed suicide out of guilt, like the principal she found in the underground warehouse of Kyonohoka Academy.
This person... couldn't be so fragile that she died of shame because I read her black history, could she?
The reason Inaba Tsukiyo was able to find Shiori's black history diary was quite sudden.
She just wanted to go to a stationery store to buy painting supplies, and while looking for them, she found a black diary in the painting section.
This diary was just sitting there in front of Inaba Tsukiyo, as if telling her to take it, to take it home.
It was like some kind of secret martial arts manual, but it did attract Inaba Tsukiyo's attention, making her pick up the book and curiously flip through it.
And then... and then she saw the delusions of a chuunibyou girl. The contents almost made her burst out laughing.
That's why she planned this punishment, but she didn't expect Shiori's tolerance to be so poor.
"What should I do now? How about sending her home using Imaginary Space? But... is it okay to send her back like this?"
She had a broken expression; someone who didn't know might think Shiori had really experienced something indescribable.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was thinking, Shiori's right hand suddenly grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Eek!"
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