Stepping inside the half-destroyed department store, the air was filled with a mix of dust and cold moisture. Shido lowered his voice and quietly asked into the mic: "Kotori, confirm this for me, is it in this direction?"
"That's right, the spirit wave reading is not far ahead. The coordinates are stable, the error is no more than five meters." Kotori's voice came through, carrying a rare trace of tension.
"Listen, Shido, this time is different from the time with Tohka. She just went through a fierce battle and is currently very cautious and vulnerable. This is the first official contact, so whatever you do, do not mess this up!"
"I know..." Shido replied helplessly, then took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart which was beating too fast due to nervousness.
He carefully stepped over the scattered debris and broken glass on the floor, moving slowly through the labyrinthine ruins of shelves, guided by the faint light filtering down from the damaged ceiling.
"Stop." Kotori's instruction came again. "This is it. The source of the reading is directly in front of you."
Shido immediately stopped, looking around cautiously and carefully. Collapsed shelves, toys and clothes scattered everywhere... He didn't seem to see the small, blue figure.
Just then, a faint voice, timid and sounding as if it might disappear at any moment, came from a dark corner high above:
"— Are you... here to bully Yoshinon too...?"
Shido suddenly looked up, following the sound.
He saw the blue-haired girl—The Hermit—lying weakly against the top of a slanted shelf.
Her unique Astral Dress showed several noticeable tears, and the previously gorgeous fabric was stained with dust.
She was slightly curled up, her chest rising and falling gently as she took small breaths, her face showing exhaustion and lingering terror.
Most striking was the comical rabbit puppet on her left hand, which was currently opening and closing its mouth on its own, as if whispering in a voice only she could hear:
"No way~ Yoshinon is a gentle girl, you can't hurt her... Huh, hmm?"
Then, the puppet paused its movement, as if it had "discovered" Shido. Its head turned toward him, breaking the silence with its unique, slightly sharp, comical tone:
"Oh my? I was wondering who it was. It's the 'lucky pervert' big brother from yesterday~"
Its tone sounded surprisingly lighthearted, but combined with the girl's current distressed state, it felt jarring and heartbreaking.
"As you can see," Yoshinon continued, swaying its body as it spoke for its master.
"Yoshinon is very~ weak right now. If possible~ we hope this young man who suddenly appeared isn't here to hurt Yoshinon, okay~? After all, we gave you'special service' already~"
The puppet's words still carried that flippant, teasing tone, but Shido could clearly sense the blue-haired girl hidden behind the puppet.
— Her deep blue eyes, peeking through the gaps in the shelf like a startled fawn, were filled with profound unease and vigilance.
Just as Shido took a deep breath, preparing to respond to The Hermit's cautious and teasing greeting, Kotori's sharp "Wait a minute!" through the mic interrupted him.
Almost immediately after The Hermit finished speaking, three options quickly popped up on the main screen of the Fraxinus bridge:
① "Ah, long time no see. How are you?" (Greeting generously)
② "What lucky pervert! Who are you calling a lucky pervert!" (Humorous retort)
③ "Hmph... Who is that? I am a wanderer who just happened to be passing by." (Displaying masculinity?)
Kotori, sitting in the captain's chair, licked her lips, scanning the options like examining horse racing odds, and immediately ordered: "All personnel, begin selection!"
Following her command, the crew below the bridge immediately clattered as they pressed the buttons by their hands. The results instantly displayed on the small screen beside Kotori.
The votes for ①, ②, and ③—were eerily similar!
"Huh? We should choose ②!" one crew member excitedly offered. "That's the most common retort used by dating sim protagonists! It's guaranteed to lighten the mood! This has to be the one!"
But the moment he finished speaking, someone immediately raised a conservative objection: "However, making a retort without fully understanding her personality might risk provoking her, right? I think choosing ① is the safest and most reliable approach!"
"Wrong, wrong!" Another person joined the debate. "Based on the existing operational data, we know for certain that The Hermit is the type who almost never attacks humans proactively! Therefore, we should be bold and choose ③, and settle this with masculinity! That's the shortcut to capture!"
"...Hmm." After listening to the three reasonable statements, Kotori pressed her hand against her chin and pondered softly for just two seconds. Then, as if making a monumental decision, she spoke decisively into the microphone: "— Shido, the answer is ③."
"...What kind of ridiculous answer is that..." Listening to the instructions coming through the mic, Shido felt his cheek twitching slightly. He couldn't help but sit down on the floor and mutter a complaint. This option sounded not only strange but borderline bizarre and embarrassing.
"Ooh hmm? What's wrong, big brother?" The puppet Yoshinon tilted its head nimbly, seemingly curious about Shido's silence and subtle reaction.
There was no more time for hesitation or thought. Shido gritted his teeth and stood up from the spot, following the instruction.
He looked around and, seeing an overturned chair nearby, he steeled himself, put one foot on it, and tried to strike a pose he thought looked dashing and unrestrained... He tilted his head back slightly, affectedly slicked his fringe back with his hand, and spoke in a deliberately low, supposedly world-weary tone:
"Hmph... I don't know that guy. I am a wanderer who just happened to be passing through this place..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Shido felt a powerful wave of embarrassment shoot through him like an electric current, and his toes curled up awkwardly inside his shoes.
This was harder to endure than facing the hail of bullets from the AST!
The puppet Yoshinon, controlled by The Hermit, clearly showed a stunned expression and fell into an eerie silence; even its opening and closing mouth froze.
Time passed second by second, and the atmosphere was so awkward it felt like it was about to solidify.
"...Hey, hey, Kotori. What do I do now? This atmosphere..." Shido couldn't help but whisper a complaint to Kotori, feeling like a clown who had forgotten his lines on stage.
However, just as he finished speaking—
"Pfft... Ha... Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"
The puppet Yoshinon suddenly burst into loud, comical laughter, shaking its head as if a switch had been flipped.
"Well now~ I didn't expect big brother to be such an interesting 'jester', either? Ahaha, you hardly find people like this nowadays~!"
Its laughter was infectious; although its vocabulary was archaic, the undisguised joy instantly dissipated the previous tension and awkwardness.
"Ha... Haha... As long as you like it..." Shido scratched his cheek and gave a helpless wry smile.
He silently complained that almost no one used the word "jester" anymore, but wisely chose not to say it aloud. Regardless, the atmosphere had finally eased, and that was better than anything.
"See~" Kotori's voice, tinged with smugness and an "everything is under control" attitude, came through the headset.
"...Y-yes, I apologize for doubting your judgment earlier."
Shido replied softly, finally feeling relieved. He adjusted his mood, turned around again, and formally faced the blue-haired girl leaning against the shelf, who was still exhausted but seemed slightly less terrified.
— And her lively partner who was responsible for "speaking."
At least, the first step, though convoluted and embarrassing, had finally been taken.
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