"You... what are you talking about, Miss Inaba? I am Itsuka Shido. Who is Shiori?"
"Do you really think playing dumb is useful, Miss Shiori? Or do you think the person who's directing you on this date with me will help you with your current situation?"
Inaba Tsukiyo pointed to the earpiece with the communicator Shiori was wearing and said with a smile.
Kotori and everyone on the Bridge, who finally understood that their side was completely exposed, fell into a brief silence.
It turned out that from the very beginning, Inaba Tsukiyo could hear their conversations with Shiori.
From the very beginning, Inaba Tsukiyo knew their plan.
At the same time, they also understood why Inaba Tsukiyo's favorability couldn't be increased: because she had always been very clear that this was a premeditated meeting.
Inaba Tsukiyo had been wary of them from the start. Perhaps the reason for the abnormal emotion value at that time was also caused by Inaba Tsukiyo.
Her outward appearance was like that of an ordinary girl, but inside she had designed many traps.
This was the wisdom of an elder. These guys wanted to play these tricks with Inaba Tsukiyo? They were decades too early!
"Do you know, Miss Shiori? Although my eyes can't see things, my hearing is very keen. I can hear sounds from very far away very clearly, not to mention those words you secretly whisper into your ear; they certainly can't escape my ears. Or is it that because I can't see, you didn't think I could hear your conversations with the other party?"
Inaba Tsukiyo's hearing was very keen, and Shiori didn't know about this.
"When I met you yesterday, I was really happy. Although I don't know why you're pretending to be a Boy, you were the first person to treat me sincerely. However, I didn't expect that you, like those people, would also approach me with a purpose."
"I'm truly... truly... truly disappointed, Miss Shiori. Therefore, I must punish you properly."
When they first met, Inaba Tsukiyo heard Shiori talking to someone and understood that Shiori had been sent by certain people to capture her.
However, these people were truly reckless, actually allowing an ordinary girl with not much combat ability to appear before her. How much confidence did they have?
Shiori retreated a few steps in fear, but Inaba Tsukiyo had no intention of letting her go, approaching her step by step.
Kotori thought Inaba Tsukiyo wanted to do something bad to Shiori and was about to use the Bridge's rapid transfer function to emergency-transfer Shiori to the Bridge.
"Naive... Do you really think I have no way to deal with this?"
She waved her hand, and the light covering Shiori in the sky was nullified by some power, causing the transfer light to disappear.
Shiori, who was retreating, was also caught by two hands that suddenly appeared behind her. Under the control of these arms, Shiori struggled as she was pulled into a certain space.
Inaba Tsukiyo looked back at the screen monitoring her, smiled and waved, then turned and walked into another spatial gate, disappearing.
"Commander! Miss Shiori's reaction has completely disappeared! The tracking device placed on her has also vanished! It feels as if she has completely disappeared from this world!"
The Bridge members nervously operated the screens in front of them, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any sign of Shiori, as if she had completely vanished from this world.
Needless to say, Shiori must have been pulled into some strange space by that special arm. The power Inaba Tsukiyo displayed was related to space!
"Damn it! It's all my fault, all my fault for letting my elder sister approach her without knowing any Spirit intelligence. What should I do?"
Kotori thought anxiously. She could remain so calm in letting Shido face the Spirit because of Shido's special ability and the aerial battleship's emergency transfer function.
But the battleship's emergency transfer function was destroyed by Inaba Tsukiyo, and Shiori's special ability also couldn't return from another space to reality.
What should she do now? This situation occurred on their very first attempt at capture. Kotori didn't expect that she would actually lose her elder sister.
What happened to Shiori, who was dragged away by the arms?
Shiori, who entered the special space, was still struggling. She felt like she was drowning, and this sense of weightlessness made Shiori unable to exert any strength.
As Shiori struggled, she vaguely heard some sounds, which grew louder and louder.
Soon, Shiori, feeling herself standing on the ground, opened her eyes and found herself in a special place.
The surroundings were pitch black, with nothing but a bright area in front of her.
"Attack Hermit (The Recluse)!"
What was displayed before Shiori was a scene of AST members chasing Yoshino.
Every time Yoshino appeared in the real world, she would face AST's attacks. There was no reason, no cause. According to these guys, this world did not allow the existence of Spirits.
From beginning to end, Yoshino never attacked. Whether she was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground, or nearly cut by a light saber, Yoshino never fought back.
"Why is it like this? Why? I didn't intend to harm anyone, so why do you want to harm me?"
"Why? Because your existence is a threat to this world."
"Monster!"
"Because of you, my family died! Why do you exist!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
Always enduring human curses, always enduring human malicious gazes.
Monster? Is living a threat? Why shift these mistakes onto her? What did she do wrong?
These were all fragments Inaba Tsukiyo found in Yoshino's memories. These were real words, not fabricated by Inaba Tsukiyo.
Many ordinary people do not know about the existence of Spirits, but some people understand the drawbacks of Spirit existence; their families died in spacequakes.
But... why blame them for this? Why must they bear these groundless accusations?
"How is it, Miss Shiori? After seeing this, do you understand the plight of Spirits in the eyes of you humans?"
Inaba Tsukiyo returned to Shiori, opened her crimson pupils, gazed into Shiori's eyes, and said.
"Miss Inaba, where is this?"
"[Imaginary Space]. Unlike reality and the world where Spirits reside, it is a special space that I control."
She told Shiori the secret of this space without reservation. Anyway, no one else could use or enter this special space except her.
"I don't mean to harm you. The only reason I brought you here is to show you these. To show you the true plight of Spirits, who are seen as walking disasters in your eyes."
"I originally thought that as long as we lived like humans, we could integrate with you. Now it seems, all of you wish for Spirits to die."
Inaba Tsukiyo sighed, speaking with a hint of helplessness.
The AST's goal is to kill all Spirits that manifest. By eliminating them before they can cause greater disasters, they can protect more innocent humans.
Perhaps, in the minds of AST members, if all Spirits were killed, there would be no more Spatial Quakes, and this world would be safe.
"That's not it! I have no intention of harming you, Miss Inaba! The organization I belong to is called Ratatoskr, and Ratatoskr's goal is not to kill Spirits! I want to help you, Miss Inaba!"
"Oh? You want to help me? As a human, do you truly have the ability to help us?"
Tsukiyo looked at Shiori with some surprise. This Boy, dressed as a male, showed an unprecedented determination, even forgetting her previous fear, and stepped forward to grasp Inaba Tsukiyo's hands.
This surprised Inaba Tsukiyo somewhat, making her want to hear what Shiori's salvation was all about.
"Although I don't know how, I have the ability to seal Spirits' powers. As long as their powers are sealed, you won't cause Spatial Quakes, and you won't harm anyone. You can also live normal human lives!"
"Live normal human… lives? Heh heh~ I didn't expect that even a normal human life would be such a luxury now, did I?"
Whether it was students living in an apocalyptic environment or students fighting Honkai Beasts, these were the student lives Inaba Tsukiyo had experienced.
She hadn't expected that even this ordinary life would be such a difficult thing now.
Shiori's idea was good: by sealing the Spirits' powers, they would be unable to cause Spatial Quakes, thus allowing Spirits to live like ordinary humans.
But Inaba Tsukiyo is not a Spirit. Although she possesses the original power of Yoshino, she also has powers from other systems.
Apart from the powers gained in the Honkai World, the power of a Heroic Spirit is not something Shiori can seal.
"If you truly intend to help Spirits, then please go help other Spirits, Miss Shiori. I will not give up this power."
"Why?"
"My purpose is to protect Yoshino. If my power were sealed, then I would have no strength to protect the person I care about. Moreover, I still don't want to trust this world."
After a Spirit's power is sealed, can she truly live a normal life? Won't she be foolishly killed by AST members when powerless, or captured as an experimental subject for humans to research the secrets of Spirit power and create more weapons?
"I can assure you that as long as that child can live safely, I will not take any drastic actions."
"But… I truly want to help you, Miss Inaba. Can't you really give me this chance?"
"No. You have your reasons, and I have my principles. And you also intended to deceive me, to use my trust in you to gain my favor and seal my power."
There was no rebuttal. Shiori's actions were indeed using Inaba Tsukiyo's trust.
Today's date was a deception, a one-sided trick arranged by Shiori.
"Goodbye, Miss Shiori. If you truly want to save Spirits, then go save other Spirits."
"Wait! Wait a moment! Miss Inaba!"
Shiori still wanted to say something, but under the pull of the Imaginary Space arm, Shiori left the Imaginary Space.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!