"Shido."
"Wh-What is it?"
"Tohka."
"Huh?"
"Tohka. That is my name. Doesn't it sound nice?"
"Y-Yeah, it does..."
Shido felt his cheeks flush. Being asked so directly by Tohka to call her name, and being stared at by her with such purely expectant eyes, made him feel a rush of embarrassment in every sense.
He subconsciously looked away and scratched his cheek.
But Tohka was clearly not satisfied; she called out again clearly, "Shido!"
Her intention couldn't be clearer. Shido took a deep breath, overcoming the tremor in his heart, and softly replied, "T-Tohka..."
Hearing her name called by Shido himself, Tohka's face instantly broke into a smile of immense satisfaction and brilliance. Her lips curled up high, and her amethyst eyes curved into beautiful crescents.
"...!"
Shido's heart involuntarily gave a heavy thump. Only then did he realize that this seemed to be the first time he had truly seen Tohka's completely unclouded smile.
That smile was like sunlight piercing through dark clouds—pure and dazzling—causing him to lose himself for a moment.
However, this brief moment of warmth was ruthlessly interrupted by a sudden, violent explosion and intense vibrations!
BOOM—!!!
The entire school building shook, and dust sifted down.
"Wh-What's happening...?" Shido stumbled, hastily grabbing the nearby blackboard to steady himself.
[Shido, get down on the floor!] Kotori's voice, carrying an unprecedented urgency, came through the right earphone.
"Huh...?"
[Don't worry about it right now, hurry!]
Although he didn't understand why, Shido had an instinctive trust in Kotori's commands. He immediately obeyed and dropped to the floor.
Almost the very instant he ducked down—
KKKKKKKKKKK—!
The deafening sound of dense, rain-like gunfire erupted! All the windows in the classroom shattered simultaneously!
Countless shards of glass and attacks, seemingly live rounds or energy beams, poured into the room like a violent storm!
Just as Shido thought both he and Tohka were about to be riddled with holes, Chinatsu, who was standing nearby, merely frowned slightly, a flicker of impatience crossing her eyes.
She didn't even make a large movement; she simply raised a finger.
The next moment, a strange scene occurred. The incoming glass shards and bullets, after entering a certain radius of the classroom, seemed to hit an invisible, highly viscous wall. Their speed drastically decreased, and they were finally frozen completely in mid-air, like insects caught in amber! The bullets and glass fragments, having lost all their kinetic energy, then clattered to the floor with a crisp sound.
Wh-What is this...!
Shido stared at this unimaginable sight, dumbfounded.
[It seems to be an attack from outside. And Chinatsu used her power; it looks like she solidified the space.] Kotori's voice returned, calm after analysis.
[The enemy is likely trying to force the Spirit to reveal herself—Ah, but it's also possible they intend to destroy the school building so the Spirit loses her sanctuary.]
"Wha—! How can they do something so reckless..."
[There are Wizards from the Disaster Reconstruction Unit standing by outside right now. They can repair all the damage immediately, so even if the building is destroyed once or twice, it shouldn't matter—That being said, the situation is still beyond my expectations. I didn't think they would adopt a strategy of forced offense.] Kotori's tone also carried a hint of seriousness.
Shido subconsciously raised his head and looked at Tohka.
Tohka's face no longer held the smile she had when interacting with him just moments ago. She was biting her lower lip, her gaze fixed intently on the direction where the AST Unit might be, her purple eyes filled with pain, anger, and a trace of barely perceptible... sadness.
Even though all the attacks had been easily blocked by Chinatsu, and not even a breath of wind had touched her, the expression on her face made it seem as if she were personally enduring all the malice.
Chinatsu sighed softly as she watched Tohka in this state. She walked over to her side, reached out a hand, and gently stroked Tohka's head, as if comforting a child who had been wronged.
"—Tohka!" Shido unconsciously called her name again.
Tohka snapped back to reality, pulling her gaze from the window and fixing it on Shido. The gunfire outside was still fierce, but the focused attack on this classroom seemed to have temporarily ceased.
Shido stood up while cautiously monitoring the activity outside.
He saw Tohka sadly lower her eyes and say in a trembling voice:
"Run away, Shido. If you continue to stay with me, you will be killed eventually."
...Shido remained silent, swallowing hard. Kotori was right; he had to leave quickly. This place was too dangerous.
But—looking at Tohka's expression, which tried to appear calm but couldn't hide her fragility, he couldn't bring himself to take a step toward escape.
[You now have two choices: run away or stay?]
Kotori's voice, carrying a hint of mockery yet sounding incredibly serious, came through his ear.
Shido struggled and hesitated internally. He glanced at the expressionless Chinatsu beside him, and his resolve of "I cannot fail again" flashed through his mind.
Finally, he lowered his voice, speaking as if making an oath to himself:
"...Now that things have come to this, how can I run away..."
[What an idiot.] Kotori's assessment came through.
"...Say whatever you want."
[I'm complimenting you, you know—Here's some good advice. If you don't want to die, try to stay as close to the Spirit as possible.]
Shido pressed his lips into a firm, resolute line, as if having made some profound decision.
Then, he performed an action that neither Tohka nor Chinatsu had expected—he simply plopped down right next to Tohka's feet, adopting an attitude that screamed, "I'm not leaving."
"Ah—?" Tohka widened her eyes in surprise, completely unable to grasp Shido's actions. "What are you doing? Hurry and—"
"I don't care about any of that...!"
Shido interrupted her, his tone carrying a sense of reckless stubbornness.
"This is supposed to be time for you and me to talk. Don't worry about minor things like that—You want information about this world, don't you? Anything I know, I will definitely tell you."
Tohka instantly showed a look of surprise, complex light flickering in her purple eyes—there was confusion, incomprehension, but perhaps... also a trace of warmth from being touched?
She looked at Shido's stubborn yet sincere gaze, hesitated for a moment, and eventually sat down directly opposite Shido.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu, standing nearby, watched the two of them—who were sitting on the floor as if about to hold a tea party amidst a hail of bullets—with a look of resignation.
She shook her head, a hint of complex, subtle emotion flashing in her golden eyes, but ultimately said nothing.
She simply continued to silently maintain the spatial barrier around them, isolating all external danger and providing temporary peace to this small sanctuary amidst the chaos.
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