Coming right after Yimi's honey-tongued antics earlier, the words made Shiori momentarily think she was being insulted.
But then she caught herself. At their last meeting, the other girl had brought up her grandmother. Which was strange, because the little girl herself had said she'd only been in this world for a few days.
Had Yimi been lying to her just now? But the child didn't seem like the type to lie.
Then again, she also didn't seem like the type to call someone a big idiot.
Shiori swallowed her confusion and answered as gently as she could: "If Yimi wants to go home, I'll help you. Let's make a deal—I'll help Yimi find your home, and in exchange you'll go on a real date with me afterward. Deal?"
Because Yimi was deliberately keeping her distance, she hadn't lowered her voice.
"...A date? What is this girl saying to a little kid..."
"Should someone call the police? Or is this just an older sister joking with her little sister?"
"This is no joke—look at the time. High schoolers and elementary schoolers haven't even been let out yet."
"..."
The pointed stares from passersby were hard to ignore. This was a high-traffic area, and there was no convenient Spacequake to provide cover this time.
"Notice to Host: no cross-dimensional transit exists in this world. This is of no use to Host's passage home."
The little cat's face fell at the notification. "You can't help me."
"Why not?"
"Mom is in another world."
"..."
The contradiction in Yimi's words left Shiori momentarily unable to decide whether it was literal or whether the child simply hadn't grasped the concept of death. She leaned toward the former.
Because of Kotori, Kurumi, and Miku—three Spirits who had made long-term homes in the present world—she'd almost forgotten: Tohka had once mentioned that before her sealing, she spent most of her existence in a forced dormancy in a place called the Neighboring World, and Spacequakes were, in fact, a by-product of Spirits crossing from the Neighboring World into reality.
Could it be a special realm where many Spirits actually lived?
She rested a hand on the little girl's head. "I don't quite understand, but can Yimi get home on her own?"
Ratatoskr had pulled every feed they could get—the little one had spent these past days essentially napping in the streets and foraging for food, barely doing anything purposeful. Which rather confirmed she had no way home under her own power.
Funny, in a backwards sort of way. Every other Spirit was trying to figure out how to stay in the present world permanently, while Yimi seemed like she wanted to go back and simply couldn't.
"You can't help me." Yimi shook her head, dislodging Shiori's hand. "I won't let you seal me. I don't have any money to give you."
Before Shiori could make sense of that, Yimi trotted off into the thicker part of the crowd.
"Wait, we just got here—doesn't Yimi want to eat something good?"
For a brief moment Shiori half-expected her to suddenly produce a children's anti-pervert alarm and set it off. But that wasn't what happened.
Yimi had been about to run—but before leaving Reine's office, she'd drawn an unusually strange slip from gacha. It listed the completion condition for another random achievement.
She'd taken one look at it. Some of the characters she couldn't read. And yet, somehow, she understood them anyway.
The little cat stood in the middle of the crowd, spread both arms toward the sky exactly as the slip instructed, and shouted:
"I am done with this game—I want to log out!"
Then she activated her recently upgraded Stand ability.
Blinding sacred light enveloped her entire form, very nearly flash-blinding the assembled passersby.
Shiori was so startled she froze—she couldn't understand why the little girl had suddenly manifested her Angel in public.
Then the white light vanished—and with it, the little girl disappeared too. While everyone was too dazzled to look directly at the spot, she'd shifted back to cat form and quietly slipped away. From the outside it simply looked as though she had been there, then there was a flash, then there was nothing. The gathered onlookers stood dumbstruck, tilting their heads back to stare at the clear blue sky with the unsettled expression of people questioning the nature of reality.
"...What on earth was that about?" Shiori pressed a hand to her forehead.
This date had ended even more abruptly than the last. But at least she had a lead now.
"Congratulations, Host—achievement unlocked: [Earth Online] Reward: Gacha draws +1."
"Mrow?"
Another draw. Please not another hint slip.
"Draw."
"Skipping animation for Host."
[Skill Book: Insect Glaive]: Abandon the Long Sword and embrace perfection. Unlock Insect Glaive techniques from Monster Hunter: World & Iceborne.
Learning difficulty: Hard
A book again.
Yimi regarded the tome—roughly the thickness of a school textbook—with deep dissatisfaction, then opened her mouth wide and bit a chunk out of the spine. Knowledge immediately seeped into her mind.
The System delivered its scripted speech: "All that study and effort pays off in the end. After countless days and nights of contemplation and the labor of practice, the harvest has finally come. Congratulations to the diligent Host on mastering the difficult art of the [Insect Glaive]."
A glaive technique. Or spear-handling, more or less. Yimi felt it was nowhere near as useful as fishing.
The little cat turned her feet toward school and headed back to curl up with the person who looked like Grandmother.
Tonomachi Hiroto. Itsuka Shiori's classmate.
Every harem anime from the old days had to have a guy like this—monkey energy, loser vibes, there to serve as a foil for the male lead's popularity with girls. Some people spent years mocking that character type without noticing they were quietly becoming it. He was one of those people.
After the final bell, he clapped his good friend on the shoulder. "Hey, Yamada—about that game I mentioned last time..."
"Sorry, Tonomachi. I've got something on this afternoon." The friend smiled apologetically, then turned and walked home chatting and laughing with the most popular girl from the next class.
"Ughhh..."
Tonomachi Hiroto was petrified on the spot. For the first time in his life he truly understood his place in the social order. The summer heat felt like autumn wind on his cheeks; his eyes were wet.
His gaze swept around, eventually landing on the little cat who had abandoned Shiori and trotted back to school on her own.
"Nyan-san—are you all alone too, Nyan-san?"
"Rolly. Dinner."
Then he heard Origami from his class clap her hands, and at the word "dinner" the little furball launched herself in a single leap straight into Origami's arms, settled on her shoulder with her hind legs pressing down on Origami's chest, and was carried off without any fuss.
"...Waaah!" Tonomachi Hiroto ran off in tears.
"Congratulations, Host—achievement unlocked: [Nyan-san] Reward: Portal Energy +5%."
Origami glanced once at the boy's retreating back.
He seemed to be in her class. She had no particular impression of him.
She lifted Yimi by the scruff of her neck. "How did you end up outside?"
Reine-sensei had promised to look after the cat.
Cat Journal: Monday — Clear
Do not leave Rolly with Reine-sensei. She can barely look after herself. (See: extremely dark circles.)
Also: Rolly's claws are getting a bit long. The kneading hurts a little, but I don't know how to trim a cat's nails.
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