Shido sighed as he watched Koushi being escorted away by two "impartial" crew members, then resignedly followed after him.
After all, Koushi was his good friend of many years, and being new to the place, he would surely be clueless about where his daily necessities were or how to make the bed.
Indeed, when Shido entered the guest room, Koushi was staring worriedly at the empty bed frame and the unopened bedding packages piled in the corner.
"I say, Shido, is your family's 'VIP treatment' just making guests fend for themselves?" Koushi complained, hands on his hips.
"Less talk, more help," Shido rolled his eyes at him and walked over, skillfully starting to unpack the bedding.
"Do you think everyone is like you, a 'Dark Magician of Immortality' who's too lazy to even fold his blanket at home?"
"Kukuku, how can the mundane affairs of mortals trouble my realm?" Koushi was still spouting chuunibyou lines, but his body was honest as he came over to help pull the duvet cover.
"But seriously... Shido, is this how you usually 'conquer' Spirits? Starting with helping with chores? This 'conquest' route is a bit too simple, isn't it?"
Shido almost choked on his own saliva, then threw a pillow at his face in annoyance: "What nonsense are you talking about! This is just basic hospitality!
And Tohka's situation back then was special..."
Koushi caught the pillow, then grinned mischievously and leaned closer: "Oh? Special? How special? Tell me about it?
Was it also like helping me make the bed today, where you 'accidentally' had physical contact? And then the atmosphere became ambiguous?"
"What are you even thinking about!" Shido's face flushed slightly as he forcefully shook out the blanket.
"Tohka and I... it was... it was..."
"It was what?" Koushi pressed on, his face practically screaming "gossip."
Shido held back for a long time, then finally deflated, saying helplessly: "...It was responsibility.
The responsibility to not leave things be once you've seen them."
The playful look on Koushi's face receded a bit.
He helped Shido tuck in the corners of the blanket, his tone becoming more serious: "Well... that does sound like something you'd say.
But Shido, honestly, 'Date them, make them blush'... whose idea was this plan?
It sounds like a proposal from a shut-in who plays too many galgames.
Is your Ratatoskr really reliable?"
"It's better than letting Spirit powers run wild, or being captured by DEM," Shido replied while tidying the bedsheet.
"Besides, Kotori and the others do a lot of analysis and support work behind the scenes; it's not as simple as you think."
"Analysis? Support?" Koushi raised an eyebrow.
"It's not like a bunch of people are watching you date my sister on a spaceship, then pointing fingers saying 'Option A: Affection +5, Option B: Might get slapped'? That sounds even more perverted!"
"Hey!" Shido almost wanted to smother this loose-tongued guy with a pillow.
"Hahaha, just kidding," Koushi laughed and dodged away.
"But, Shido, that ultimate goal of'stealing her first kiss'... will you actually be able to do it then?
To her face, which might summon the Spear of the Void or Reason armaments at any moment?"
Shido's movements completely froze, his cheeks reddening at a visible rate, steam practically rising from his head: "Th-this... that... when the time comes... we'll have to see..."
"'See'? You actually have ideas about my sister?" Koushi narrowed his eyes, mimicking Commander Kotori's tone.
"Option One: Bravely go for it, might get a Spirit's kiss, or might get a spatial cutting experience voucher.
Option Two: Strategic retreat, get scorned by everyone on the ship.
Shido, what will you choose?"
"I choose to kick you out to sleep in the hallway right now!" Shido, exasperated, grabbed another pillow and started chasing Koushi.
The two of them started bickering in the not-so-spacious guest room like they did when they were kids, feathers flying from the pillows.
The previous heaviness and oppression seemed to be temporarily dispelled by this familiar laughter and playful insults.
Tired from their antics, the two sat side by side on the freshly made bed, slightly out of breath.
Koushi looked at the ceiling and suddenly asked softly: "Hey, Shido... Tohka, when she first appeared, was she as... 'innocent' as she seemed today?
Like she knew nothing about this world."
Shido was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Yes. She was like a blank slate, curious about everything, and easily hurt.
Her power was immense, but her heart... was actually very pure."
"Is that so..." Koushi lowered his head, looking at his palms as if trying to discern something from them.
"Then my sister Chinatsu... what is she like now?"
His voice held less of the previous playfulness and more of an imperceptible worry and confusion.
Shido patted his shoulder, at a loss for how to answer.
They were facing a Spirit with greater power, a more complex situation, and a deep blood connection to Koushi.
The path ahead was still shrouded in mist.
But at least, they were no longer facing it alone.
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