On the Fraxinus's aerial bridge, a soft blue light enveloped the futuristic command center.
Itsuka Kotori, with her favorite precious jewel in her mouth, sat steadily in the central Commander's chair. She took a deep breath, pulled the lollipop from her mouth, and waved it forward forcefully, like a general about to charge:
"All personnel—listen up!"
Her clear voice echoed through the bridge, and all crew members' gazes instantly focused on her.
"Below! Is the historic first date scene between our dear Shido and the target, Phoenix-in Chinatsu!"
Kotori's eyes gleamed with sharp light, "It's finally our Fraxinus's turn to appear! This isn't just ordinary playing around, this is a war! A 'Date War' concerning Shido's future and the spirit capture!"
She stood up, the skirt of her Commander uniform swaying slightly, her voice carrying an undeniable resolve:
"Now, date support operation, begin! All personnel, battle stations! Analyst in position! Option group on standby! Support systems fully open!"
"Oh—!!" A mixed response of excitement and tension rang out on the bridge.
"Good!" Kotori nodded in satisfaction, sat back down, put the precious jewel back in her mouth, and bit down hard, making a crisp sound, "Starting now—let's have our date (war)!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the giant main screen instantly lit up, clearly displaying real-time footage of Amamiya City's station plaza below, as well as Shido's first-person perspective.
Various data streams began to scroll rapidly on the side screens—Shido's heart rate, skin electrical response, environmental sound analysis, target Chinatsu's micro-expression capture... In the footage, Shido had just run to the entrance of the station plaza, leaning against a wall and panting.
And not far from his line of sight, by a flowerbed, the long ice-blue haired girl was quietly waiting, her profile in the morning light as beautiful as a painting.
"Target confirmed, status stable. Shido is adjusting his breathing..." Kanmoto calmly reported the initial data.
"Very good, everything is going smoothly..." Kotori had just breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to issue the first instruction to "be natural, compliment her beauty" when—
"Wait! What is that?!"
The sharp-eyed Shiizaki suddenly exclaimed, quickly zooming in on the monitoring angle near the flowerbed.
Three obviously thuggish punks were surrounding Phoenix-in Chinatsu with ill intentions!
The yellow-haired one leading them had a repulsive smile on his face, seemingly saying something frivolous.
"Oh no! It's a harassment incident! How could such a classic event appear!"
Kotori suddenly leaned forward from her chair, her face instantly darkening, "Precisely at a time like this! Shido, he..."
She immediately leaned into the microphone, preparing to issue instructions at a rapid pace to guide Shido to adopt the most stable response strategy:
"Shido! Listen, the situation now..."
However, her instructions hadn't even been fully articulated yet—
The main screen's first-person view of Shido suddenly shook! Shido, almost reflexively, saw Chinatsu surrounded, and the fatigue and tension on his face were instantly replaced by a strong sense of urgency and anger!
He didn't even wait for any suggestions from Fraxinus, but like a wild horse, driven by instinct and a surge of passion, he dashed towards the flowerbed!
"Hey?! Wait! Shido! You idiot! Don't be rash!" Kotori yelled into the microphone, but it was clearly too late.
Everyone on the bridge could only watch as Shido, like a cannonball, rushed to Chinatsu's front without hesitation, spreading his arms and shielding her behind his not-so-broad back.
"Stop! What do you want?!"
The boy's tense yet firm roar echoed clearly through the audio collection system on the bridge.
The entire Fraxinus bridge fell into a brief silence.
Everyone looked at the screen at the boy standing in front of the beautiful girl, facing three punks, clearly scared himself but not backing down an inch.
"This... single-minded idiot..." Kotori covered her forehead, sitting back down with annoyance and helplessness, but in the depths of her eyes, an imperceptible softness quietly flickered, "...His actions are unbelievably fast."
"[It seems the beginning of this 'war' has completely deviated from the command's script.]"
A gentle and slightly drowsy voice came through the communication channel; it was Murasame Reine.
"Ah... yes." Kotori chewed on her candy, her gaze fixed on the screen.
"But... never mind. Although the plan is disrupted, if this 'hero saves the maiden' trope is handled well, perhaps... it might unexpectedly earn bonus points?"
She regained her spirits and ordered everyone:
"Don't just stand there! Since the protagonist has already acted on his own, we support personnel must keep up even more! Fully monitor the scene, analyze target Chinatsu's reactions! Be ready to provide emergency option support at any time!"
"Yes!"
The atmosphere on the Fraxinus bridge grew even more tense, everyone holding their breath, focusing on this sudden'skirmish' initiated by Shido.
They had anticipated various possibilities, but they never expected that what happened next would completely overturn their understanding of the term "hero saves the maiden."
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