"What does it matter? You've already reunited with Mio. Under Mio's observation, you definitely won't have any so-called 'normal relationships.' And I believe Tohka and Kotori wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, right?"
"Normal relationships... that's already getting further and further away from me. When Kotori dragged me into this strange mission of 'capturing Spirits,' I already gave up on that idea."
Mainly, her experiences with Mio Takamiya in that environment made Shiori completely abandon the idea of normal relationships, and she herself wasn't interested in ordinary Boys.
"Mm, mm, exactly. Opposite-gender relationships are solely for reproduction; same-gender relationships are true love. Shiori, have you ever seen..."
"No, I haven't, I haven't. I haven't seen anything, don't say another word!"
Shiori, blushing, interrupted Inaba Tsukiyo, feeling somehow targeted, as if she had done something wrong, and dared not look at Inaba Tsukiyo.
This was the so-called 'protesting too much.' She hadn't even asked what she had seen, and she already had that expression.
"I can't believe our Miss Shiori has actually seen those things. It seems the teenage beauty Miss Shiori is very curious about things concerning the opposite gender. Or perhaps... you have..."
"No! I haven't! Don't talk nonsense!"
A triple denial. To change the subject, Shiori directly moved closer to Inaba Tsukiyo, stopping her from continuing her thoughts.
After a brief playful struggle, Shiori finally returned to her original seat, her face flushed with either shyness or annoyance, and took a sip of the black tea on the table.
"Is there a need to be so flustered? Just like how Boys might keep certain things under their beds, isn't it natural for girls to be curious about such things?"
"I already said it's not like that... and I haven't seen those strange things. You idiot, Tsukiyo-chan."
Shiori said softly, picking up the menu nearby to shield her flushed face, not letting Inaba Tsukiyo see her.
After a while, Shiori's eyes peeked out, looking at Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Hey, Tsukiyo-chan. Mio already told me that Illya is you. Illya, who's been going to school, that's you, right?"
At this point, Shiori's gaze became complex. After all, she and Illya were good friends, and she never expected Illya to be Inaba Tsukiyo. She was already very concerned about Inaba Tsukiyo, and now adding the identity of a friend made things even more confusing.
"Yes, that's me. Didn't I transform into Medusa before? Don't let Illya's appearance fool you; she's actually a very remarkable person."
"I can see that."
On Hitogami Island, Illya, carrying Yakushi and Yuzuru, appeared in the room in King Hassan's pseudo-summoning mode, which was truly terrifying.
Although she couldn't recall which hero's command Illya had in history, Shiori didn't care about that. She was more concerned that Illya always told her a lot about Inaba Tsukiyo.
Sometimes she would even invite her to go on a date with Inaba Tsukiyo, an action that Shiori found somewhat perplexing.
"Don't know why I asked you to date me? Actually, the reason is simple: it's purely because it's interesting."
"...Alright, that answer is very much your style, Tsukiyo-chan."
Shiori gave a wry smile and shook her head. That answer truly had Inaba Tsukiyo's flavor, making her show a troubled expression, which, to Inaba Tsukiyo, was an interesting thing.
"However, I want to clarify one thing. That is, when you were capturing Spirits, did you truly have feelings for them? When you were 'capturing' me, were you acting with the mindset of 'capturing' a galgame heroine?"
To make Spirits happy, merely capturing them isn't enough; they also need to find happiness.
Shiori was still immature; she needed to grow little by little to bring happiness to the Spirits.
Based on subsequent observations, Shiori indeed wanted the Spirits to be happy, and letting Shiori take care of the innocent Spirit Tohka was indeed the best choice.
Shiori scratched her head somewhat shyly, like a praised child. Inaba Tsukiyo rarely gave her such positive evaluations.
Suddenly, Inaba Tsukiyo's ears twitched, and she subtly glanced at a corner of the Coffee Shop.
After confirming her thoughts, a smile curled on her lips.
"Hey, Shiori. We're not in a hurry to go back anyway, so how about we go on a long-overdue date? Just like our first date?"
"...Alright."
Shiori quickly agreed to Inaba Tsukiyo's suggestion, took Inaba Tsukiyo's outstretched hand, and walked out of the Coffee Shop.
As they left, in another corner of the Coffee Shop, a group of people wearing hats and glasses looked up.
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