Chapter 32: The Tenth Bullet

“Still waiting?”

Chihaya Sayo looked at Kurumi Tokisaki, who stood obediently by the shop entrance with a brand-new shopping bag. She hesitated, but walked up anyway.

“Oh my~ What’s that shopping bag in your hand, Miss Chihaya? Could it be that you also bought underwear in the style Shido likes?”

“Sh-shut up!”

Kurumi had spoken those bold words so casually. Chihaya forced her head thirty degrees to the side, avoiding that wine-red gaze that was dangerous even in imagination.

‘No way. If Kurumi saw her like this, she would definitely tease her mercilessly. She had to change the subject, something like…’

“Oh my, Miss Chihaya. Don’t forget that I’m still on a date with Mr. Shido right now?”

It seemed Kurumi had seen through her intention. She gave a soft smile, her wine-red pupils glinting with danger, and cut in before the girl could say whatever outrageous thing was about to leave her mouth.

And when she said “on a date with Mr. Shido,” she deliberately put a little extra weight on it. It sounded rather threatening.

No, it was a very obvious threat.

‘Right. Since this was during a date, the people on the aerial ship Fraxinus must be watching this place. If Chihaya said anything outrageous, Kurumi, whose plan had failed, might take it out on her. Then…’

Chihaya weighed the pros and cons and fell silent. Her memories of her past life had rusted away a great deal, but she still understood how terrifying it was to provoke the beautiful girl before her, gentle and wonderful like a viper but also deadly.

Speaking of memories, the rusting of her memories did not seem like ordinary forgetting. It was more like…

More like some unknown existence was devouring her memories. It hadn’t been long, yet her memories of her past life had already grown as vague as clouds in the sky that she could see but never reach.

“Kurumi, if I remember right, your Ninth Bullet should be able to convey the past memories of whatever it hits, yes?”

“It’s the Tenth Bullet, Miss Chihaya. You’re rarely wrong, you know. You clearly have an ability similar to the Second Spirit. Or is that… from your previous ‘memories’?”

Kurumi Tokisaki fell silent a little. She thought of a possibility, one that was absurd but also somewhat frightening.

“Miss Chihaya, your memories…”

“Kurumi, can you use the Tenth Bullet on me?”

Chihaya did not know if Kurumi’s Tenth Bullet could convey memories of a past life, but it was her last resort. If even Kurumi’s Angel could not do it, then either the barrier between two worlds was too strong, or it was… that Spirit’s power.

Chihaya rubbed her head. Her memory erosion was getting worse. She had even forgotten that Spirit’s name. She only vaguely remembered that such an existence had been there…

“I’m sorry to say this, but no~”

Kurumi spread her hands lightly and gave a gentle smile.

“The ‘me’ talking to you here cannot use my Angel right now. And ‘I’ have no reason to help Miss Chihaya. Besides, are you really comfortable letting ‘me’ point a gun at your head? If ‘I’ had any wicked ideas, then bang~”

The Kurumi before her wore a little devil’s smile, and her voice quite vividly mimicked the sound of a bullet leaving the barrel.

“It would only take one bullet, and Miss Chihaya’s head would burst open like a watermelon, you know?”

“You wouldn’t dare. If you did, you wouldn’t be able to escape either.”

Kurumi had said those terrifying words so casually, but Chihaya believed them completely. The one standing before her was no ordinary person. She was the Worst Spirit, someone who could raise a gun and kill without hesitation.

She had already tested it in England. Her body was probably the kind that could be blown apart by a missile and still revive perfectly. Maybe even ‘death’ was a luxury for her?

If Kurumi raised her flintlock at her… then the worst outcome might be Chihaya sinking the entire Tengu City underground. Clearly, Kurumi would not do something so troublesome.

The girl’s gaze did not waver as she stared straight into the Worst Spirit’s wine-red eyes. The two pairs of red eyes seemed to collide in the air and spark.

Maybe a few minutes passed? Until Chihaya felt her eyes grow dry and painful from being exposed to the air for so long, the cute Spirit before her finally looked away.

“Well, I suppose you win~ But you should know that at least when it comes to Shido Itsuka, I won’t give in. I will monopolize Shido Itsuka and make him completely my property… If you need him, Miss Chihaya, please treasure this last bit of time, okay?”

Kurumi was right. She intended to monopolize Shido Itsuka in a physical sense, to merge with him by devouring him. In her eyes, the boy’s life should also come to its final rest today.

But her words were ambiguous, with plenty of suggestive meaning in other directions. If not for someone like Chihaya who knew the inside story, most people would probably blush at Kurumi’s bold confession-like statement.

Chihaya only turned her head slightly and said nothing.

No matter what, this date was under the full surveillance of everyone on the aerial ship Fraxinus. Wanting to kill Shido Itsuka, the core of the plan, right here… Kurumi’s idea was too naive. Or was she that confident in her own power?

Or had she obtained crucial information from someone unknown?

The Second Spirit…

That term suddenly appeared in Chihaya’s mind, and with it came a verbal promise made not long ago.

Although ‘Rule’ had given her an answer, there were still some things she wanted to ask the ‘Second Spirit.’ After all, an omniscient and omnipotent Angel was the ultimate item countless people dreamed of. Even if she didn’t ask about Spirits, it would be nice to know this period’s lottery winning numbers, right?

No, no. If she cheated like that…

Wait, it shouldn’t count as cheating, right? After all, she would get the winning numbers fair and square through her own ability, not by stealing or robbing.

But asking about the Second Spirit under Fraxinus’s surveillance might be a little…

Chihaya fell silent for a moment. Considering the huge yen prize, she finally could not help but speak.

“Kurumi Tokisaki…”

“I’m back! So you bought that outfit?”

Shido Itsuka tried to calm his emotions and looked at Kurumi Tokisaki, feeling a bit drained. He usually did some basic training, but the continuous intense exercise had finally worn his body out.

“Yes~ Because you said this outfit was cute, Shido.”

Without any awareness of her own enormous charm, Kurumi naturally used the simplest and most seductive words to radiate her feminine appeal.

Tch. She’s like a succubus.

Chihaya glanced at Kurumi, who was pretending to be a shy young lady, with some dissatisfaction. She clicked her tongue softly and turned an appraising look on Shido Itsuka.

The timing was perfect, but his emotional swings were huge. His breathing was steady enough, but unlike his usual strong breathing, Shido now seemed rather… unsteady?

Anyone could tell he had just been through some intense exercise. Maybe…

Sorry…

Chihaya suddenly knocked herself on the head. It was rude of her to inadvertently offend the dark-haired girl who might be eating her fill at some restaurant right now.

“Miss Chihaya, what are you…”

Shido’s throat moved. He suddenly noticed the shopping bag in Chihaya’s hand.

That lingerie store’s bags were designed with the possibility that customers might carry purchased underwear home through the streets, so they thoughtfully used frosted material and blurred the LOGO on the surface. Through the frosted bag, one could only barely make out the color and vague size of the contents.

Whether by overall size or color, it clearly looked exactly like the black underwear Kurumi had bought. Could it be…

In an instant, Shido’s mind was filled with Chihaya’s image. His brain, which had been thinking up names for various sure-kill techniques, instead constructed an image of Chihaya Sayo in that same instant.

It seemed

The boy swallowed hard. He suddenly remembered that day in the movie theater, when the girl had lain in his arms like an obedient cat. The soft, warm feeling in his embrace had made him somewhat infatuated.

It seemed… a date with Chihaya Sayo… would be more relaxing?

Why exactly? Was it because Chihaya would not cause him too much trouble? Or because Chihaya would properly show concern for him? Or was it…

Shido did not dare imagine further. The one he wanted to save was the entire Spirit race. Saying such a thing might make him sound like a scumbag, but if he admitted that possibility… then he definitely could not continue to bear the heavy responsibility of sealing Spirits.

Without realizing it, the massive wall around Chihaya in the boy’s heart was gradually disappearing.

Millions of lives? A gentle person like Chihaya… doing such a thing must have been very painful inside, right?

He had to save that girl at the center of the vortex of sin sooner. Before she committed an even greater sin, he had to…

“Hey, Shido! You fickle trilobite! Your affection for Jormungand is rising at an extremely fast rate, you know?”

The commander seated on the aerial ship could not stand Shido’s obvious scumbag behavior and could not help but warn him.

“While you’re on a date with one girl, you’re thinking about another girl in your heart. You really are an incurable scumbag! At any rate, focus on Kurumi for now. Kurumi’s affection is steadily rising. If this continues, you’ll successfully complete the seal today…”

Kotori Itsuka smiled rather wickedly. If it really came down to it…

Early that morning, she had quietly placed a decisive ticket to ‘Dream Island’ in Shido Itsuka’s pocket. Given Kurumi’s behavior, as long as they entered ‘Dream Island,’ her affection should rise quickly, right?

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