Chapter 10: A Spirit by Any Other Name

“Hey, did you watch that streamer who’s been getting popular lately…”

“You mean that one named Sayo Chihaya? I’ve watched her too. Her personality’s a bit nasty, but you have to admit she’s gorgeous… Her livestream room has fans throwing gifts just begging her to insult them! Yesterday I even…”

Sayo… Chihaya?

Shido Itsuka, who had just stayed up all night clearing a full library of gal games, lifted his eyelids.

Why did that name sound so familiar? The spirit he knew should be Chihaya Sayo. These people probably never came into contact with spirits, right? It must just be someone with a similar name.

“Morning! Itsuka!”

“Tomobachi…”

Shido Itsuka propped up his head with a blank expression. Tomobachi was a good friend, sure, but the school’s fujoshi crowd had apparently voted him and Tomobachi onto some “Best Couple” chart… That was somewhat hard to stomach.

If he had the choice, he would rather pretend he didn’t know Tomobachi Hiroto at all. At least pretend they were complete strangers in front of the student body. Because…

As far as he knew, someone had already started work on a doujin called “Domineering Tomobachi and Delicate Itsuka”, and it had even been serialized on a well-known web comic app. The sole saving grace was that the artist was just an ordinary student rather than some master, or else his reputation would be thoroughly ruined.

“Hey, Itsuka, let me introduce you to my newest girl…”

“Huh? Weren’t your girls all gal games? You switched tastes that fast? Wow, you…”

Shido Itsuka suddenly shut his mouth, thinking of the gal games Kotori had been supervising him through these past few days…

The pot calling the kettle black. I’ve only been playing a few days, but I’ve probably already gone through more visual novels than you in your entire life.

“Look, right here! It’s the rising star streamer, Sayo Chihaya!”

“Huh? Chihaya Sayo?”

The moment he saw the image on the phone screen, Shido Itsuka felt like the sky was falling. The girl in the picture sat at a rather plain desk, staring seriously at a screen. Although she wore simple, ultra-casual loungewear, Shido Itsuka could say with certainty that this was the very same Chihaya Sayo.

“What do you mean Chihaya Sayo? Her name is Sayo Chihaya! A popular rising streamer!”

Chihaya Sayo, Sayo Chihaya… Confirmed, it was definitely her. She had not even bothered to think up a new name, simply flipping her surname and given name around to use as her new identity…

Yeah, that fit his impression of a naive spirit.

“Look, I’m not her top supporter or anything, but I’ve already given her a full hundred thousand yen and joined her exclusive fan club! Check out our chat history! So this is what having a real girlfriend feels like? Way more interesting than gal games…”

No, that’s not a real girlfriend. That’s you pining after a streamer from one side. And judging from the chat history, almost every message is you asking her to insult you… Who would’ve thought Tomobachi Hiroto, with those honest thick eyebrows and round eyes, would have that sort of kink.

But oddly enough, that cold-looking Chihaya Sayo was actually doing this kind of thing.

Life is hard. Even spirits sigh.

“Good morning.”

A slightly cold, weak voice spoke up beside Shido Itsuka. He hurriedly turned around to see Tobiichi Origami plop herself down in the seat next to him and shove her schoolbag into the desk drawer.

“Morning, Tobiichi… It’s been a while…”

In that battle with Chihaya Sayo, Tobiichi Origami had been seriously wounded.

Rumor had it that when she was taken to the hospital, all of Origami’s muscles were limp, her breathing and even the basic strength to keep her heart beating were nearly gone, like a late-stage ALS patient. It was fortunate that Origami normally had a good physical condition, or she might have died of oxygen deprivation on that hospital bed.

“Shido, you are responsible for what happened that day.”

“Whoa!”

The surrounding classmates immediately crowded around. They only knew that Tobiichi Origami had been sent to the hospital for seven days due to health issues. Could it be…

More than a few bold girls had already dreamed up all sorts of scenarios, and the looks they shot at Shido Itsuka gained a layer of disdain.

How could the cold female valedictorian possibly lie? Shido Itsuka must have done something outrageous to Tobiichi Origami a while back, enough to keep her in the hospital for days…

“Origami! Explain, please! We didn’t do anything that bad, right? You can’t just leave a sentence half-finished!”

Shido Itsuka felt that his school reputation might still be salvageable. At the very least, he had to strangle doujins such as “Sadistic Demon King Shido Itsuka and the Fragile Female Scholar” in the cradle.

“You’re right. He didn’t do anything to me.”

Tobiichi Origami’s pale face showed no emotion at all. She simply drew out the textbook she needed for this class and stared straight at Shido Itsuka.

“Mmm. Except we already did everything short of the final step, and you said you liked doing it in public, so I…”

“Stop!”

He had almost forgotten Origami’s true nature. On the surface she seldom spoke and showed no expression, but inside she was remarkably forward. If not for other people being present back then, who knows what might have happened…

For some reason, Shido Itsuka remembered the scene of Origami pressing down on top of him that day, and felt his own face begin to burn.

“Origami, I’m begging you. If the class hears that, my reputation will be completely ruined!”

“I need you to give me a title.”

Tobiichi Origami raised an eyebrow. Whether it was his imagination or not, Shido Itsuka felt that the corner of Origami’s mouth, which never changed even once in ten thousand years, seemed to have lifted just a little?

“Do me a favor then. Just help clear things up, and I’ll agree to whatever you want.”

“Then I am your girlfriend now. You know that a boyfriend and girlfriend share a very intimate relationship, yet you still call me Tobiichi. That is extremely unfair…”

“Origami! I agree!”

Hearing how he addressed her, Tobiichi Origami finally let a trace of a curve show at the corners of her mouth, and turned to explain to the people around them.

“There is nothing special about it. A few days ago, I ran into Shido on my way out. I accidentally tripped and fell onto Itsuka Shido. My hospital visits these past few days were also due to the internal injury from my fall. However…”

Tobiichi Origami cleared her throat a couple of times, raised her voice, and continued.

“However, you all heard Shido Itsuka just now make his promise. He is now my boyfriend. We plan to marry in the near future. When the time comes, you are all welcome to attend the wedding of Shido Itsuka and me, Tobiichi Origami.”

What wedding? Was she going that far?

And for someone who normally spoke so little, Origami’s voice was surprisingly loud. At the very least, the four or five neighboring classrooms would have clearly heard her announcement.

Worse, she said both their names! By the end of the day, news of his marriage to Tobiichi Origami would spread across the entire campus. Then…

“Alert. A Spacequake warning was just detected in this area. This is not a drill. Please proceed immediately to the nearest shelter. I repeat…”

Just as Shido Itsuka was about to explain, the Spacequake warning blared at the opportune moment. The students who had gathered around gradually wore serious expressions, scrambling for the nearest shelter.

Why now? Only about a week had passed. Was another Spacequake descending on Tenguu City?

For some reason, looking at the ruined school buildings before him, Shido Itsuka felt… anticipation?

Was it Chihaya Sayo, or that purple-haired spirit from the other day?

“Spirit wave response confirmed as Princess. She is inside the school building right now.”

Kotori Itsuka smiled softly and spoke.

“I have to say, this is a godsend. Princess appeared inside the school building, and AST’s terrain devices are not suited for indoor combat. For the time being, AST will not interfere with you indoors. You have plenty of time to carry out our plan, which is completely different from theirs.”

“Yeah, I know. Approach her, date her, and make her fall in love with me?”

Shido Itsuka cut Kotori off. Although his words sounded like a shameless playboy’s, his dark brown pupils were filled with determination.

“Yes, Shido. You want to save the spirits, right?”

“Save the spirits… yeah…”

Shido Itsuka lifted his head slightly. His mind drifted back to the lonely smile the mysterious spirit had shown that day, to the warmth of Chihaya Sayo’s embrace, and to the cold, murderous doll that Chihaya Sayo had been.

I don’t want them to become like that, no matter what. I want them to be able to live in this world like normal people.

But…

“I…” Shido Itsuka spoke, a hint of loneliness creeping into his voice.

“Can I really do it? When I approached Chihaya Sayo before, it only worked because her initial affection toward me was already high. Otherwise…”

“Oh, but you’re not the clueless virgin you used to be. These past few days, even though you grumbled, you never slacked off. You’ve gained plenty of experience now. How does that Western proverb go? Look at a man with new eyes after three days of separation?”

Kotori smiled lightly, sliding the lollipop in her mouth to the other side for an easier way to speak.

“You know this is something only you can do. Don’t be afraid. You have the whole of Ratatoskr backing you. And besides, even if you were to die on the spot, there’s always the chance to start over…”

Even though he knew Kotori was trying to comfort him, the tension in Shido’s chest loosened strangely all the same.

He walked slowly toward the abandoned school building where Princess was hiding. His small frame stretched long across the street in the setting sun’s glow, like a warrior marching off to certain doom.

Shido Itsuka clenched his fists and lowered his head to check the Bluetooth earpiece tucked inside, ready to receive instructions from Ratatoskr at any moment. When he raised his head again, not a trace of fear remained.

Kotori/Shido: “Then let’s begin our war (date)!”

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