Listening to Tohka's decisive, ironclad declaration, "That's the scent on your body!"
Chinatsu instantly felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head, and the blood in her body seemed to run cold.
(What the hell?! Tohka, is your nose that of a dog?! How long ago was that, and you can still smell it?! And why did you have to say it right now!)
(I'm done, I'm done, I'm done! Those sharp minds on the Fraxinus must be analyzing this frantically! With Kotori and Reine's brains... they might actually follow this lead and completely expose my identity!)
(It's fine if "Welt" is fake, but if they even start suspecting that "Chinatsu and Koushi are two different people," then the trouble will really be immense!)
A tempest had already erupted in her heart, with mental 'doom' messages scrolling frantically.
But Chinatsu knew well that the more critical the moment, the less she could show weakness!
Deny it? Wouldn't that just make her look guilty, desperate to hide something? It would only intensify their suspicion!
(Hold steady! I must hold steady! I am the noble and aloof [Herrscher of Heavenly Judgment], bearing the mission of Anti-Entropy! I cannot panic!)
She forcefully suppressed the panic in her heart, trying to maintain the icy arrogance and detachment on her face.
However, the "large accessory" in her arms became the biggest obstacle to maintaining her persona!
Tohka seemed completely immersed in the immense joy of finding a "kindred spirit," utterly oblivious to the storm raging inside Chinatsu.
Like a small animal that had found the warmest nest, she not only held tight but also began rubbing her cheek affectionately against Chinatsu's neck and chest, making satisfied, small animal whimpers, while her amethyst eyes sparkled with pure trust and happiness.
(Hey, hey, hey! Stop rubbing! That tickles! And you shouldn't rub there!)
(Help! Why is this child so clingy?! What happened to the promised aloof princess?! This isn't the script we agreed upon!)
Chinatsu screamed internally. The stern, ice-queen expression she had painstakingly put on began to crumble at a visible rate under Tohka's unguarded display of affection.
She fumbled to steady the girl in her arms, wanting to push away the overly intimate contact to prevent her "aloof older sister" image from completely shattering, yet afraid that too large a movement would hurt the other party or make her seem too resistant, thus drawing more suspicion.
Her movements were stiff, tinged with a subtle panic, and the carefully cultivated arrogance in her eyes, which had been meant to look down upon all beings, was replaced by helplessness and a touch of confusion.
At this moment, she didn't look like a Herrscher commanding thunder and space; she looked more like a young mother overwhelmed by her overly lively and clingy child, unable to stay stern, creating an extremely adorable contrast between the forced composure on her face and the genuine helplessness in her eyes.
And precisely then, Shido, standing nearby, took in the entire scene!
Shido's blue eyes were fixed on them without blinking, filled with shock, confusion, and a hint of... He seemed about to ask something?
(No! I can't let him ask! Who knows what fatal question this idiot will come up with!)
Alarm bells went off in Chinatsu's heart. It was an almost instinctive reaction; the moment Shido's lips slightly moved, seemingly about to speak.
She abruptly turned her head, her golden eyes, which still held a trace of the helplessness she felt while dealing with Tohka's affection, glared fiercely at Shido!
That look contained too much information: warning, threat, and a hint of petulant annoyance born from embarrassment that she herself hadn't realized.
It was as if she were saying: "Dare to say one more word and you're dead! Shut up! Be quiet!"
This glare, which carried strong personal emotion and completely contradicted the [Heavenly Judgment] persona, instantly made Shido swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He could only stare blankly at the extremely contradictory yet strangely harmonious scene before him—a Spirit trying hard to maintain her aloofness but failing, and a newborn Spirit clinging to her like a koala, showing affection.
Chinatsu was on the verge of tears.
(What kind of mess is this?! My Anti-Entropy recruitment! My high-and-mighty image! My identity! All ruined by this silly girl's nose and affection!)
(And Shido, what kind of look is that?! Stop looking! If you keep looking, I'll dig your eyeballs out!)
While complaining frantically in her mind, she also had to continue dealing with Tohka, who was ceaselessly rubbing against her in her arms, feeling like she was about to have a mental breakdown.
Her "cooling down and correction" plan hadn't even started, yet she had already plunged into an unprecedented crisis of image and identity.
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