A beautiful girl who transmigrates into a Herrscher of the Void is treated like an elf and conquered

Behind them, they could still hear Tohka and Origami arguing: "It's all your fault! You scared Shido away!" "You were too noisy and disturbed Shido's meal."

And the "Ma Ji Washing Pantyhose" trio's unabashed吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments): "Wow~ Wuhe, what a sinful man~"

"He actually made two beautiful girls jealous of each other!"

“I really can’t stand it.”

Shido felt a chill run down his spine and could only quicken his pace, following Reine to the physics lab that was almost never used.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my younger sister, Kotori, already waiting inside. She was sitting at a makeshift dining table, which was piled high with steaming hot dishes that were far more plentiful than anything I'd seen in the school cafeteria or in lunchboxes. She was chewing on a jewel and had a perfectly calculated look on her face.

"Oh? You're so slow, you silly brother." Kotori glanced at the untouched bento in Shido's hand. "Looks like the 'lunch party' over there was quite intense. Perfect, I've prepared a 'commander's special' for you here as a reward—even though you don't seem to have done anything." Her tone carried a hint of smugness at having snuck away.

Shido looked at the table full of delicious food, then at his own pitiful bento box, and sighed helplessly, but still obediently sat down. Reine also sat quietly to the side.

The three began their meal, and the atmosphere temporarily returned to normal (if one ignored the fact that this was a physics lab). But Shido knew that Kotori had called him here specifically for more than just a meal.

"Chiin... took the day off again today." Shido swallowed the food in his mouth and brought up the topic first, his brows furrowed slightly.

“Yes, I know.” Kotori nodded, her expression turning serious. “Besides, this is normal. Because according to our surveillance, Phoenix Inu Chiin—has gone missing again.”

"Disappeared?!" Shido nearly choked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

“Let’s start from yesterday,” Kotori put down her chopsticks and began to reconcile the timeline. “Early yesterday morning, he left home in an unusually flustered manner and appeared near the night market, behaving strangely, as if he was looking for something. Considering the chaos that Chinatsu, or rather her alternate personality, caused at the night market the night before, we speculate that the target he is looking for is likely related to Chinatsu. As for whether there is an unknown connection between them, or whether the memory erasure was not completely effective, we cannot be sure at the moment.”

"Then, last night, the lights in his house came on, it seemed like he had come back."

“That doesn’t seem like a big deal,” Shido interjected, finding it quite reasonable.

“That’s the problem.” Kotori’s eyes sharpened. “The abnormal thing is that not a single city surveillance camera captured him returning home.”

"What?" Shido was stunned.

“Since he was last spotted near the night market yesterday morning, none of the public surveillance systems in the entire Tengu City have recorded any trace of Phoenix Inu Senin. It wasn’t until the lights came on at his house last night that it was as if he had appeared out of thin air,” Kotori emphasized the eeriness of the situation.

"Could it be... that Chika used spatial powers to send him back directly?" Shido suggested a possibility.

“That possibility cannot be ruled out,” Kotori agreed. “But the bigger problem is—we’ve lost track of him again since this morning.”

"Again?" Shido asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't he be at home?"

Kotori shook her head, then dropped an even more perplexing bombshell: "Based on our continuous surveillance of the outside of their house, there's absolutely no indication he's left. However, we urgently deployed miniature reconnaissance robots capable of infiltrating indoors..."

She paused, her tone tinged with disbelief:

"The footage transmitted back shows that Phoenix Inu's house is now empty."

"What...what's going on?" Shido was completely dumbfounded. "He has no record of leaving the house, and no one is home? Could it be that he...disappeared?"

Kotori crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, a rare and deep look of confusion on her face. She looked at Shido and finally shook her head.

"I do not know either."

As Shido heard Kotori's last words, "I don't know either," his food suddenly lost its flavor and became difficult to swallow. An invisible pressure gripped his throat.

Senin's disappearance was too bizarre, far exceeding ordinary spatial quakes or spirit appearances, carrying an indescribable sense of abnormality that seemed to originate from the rules of the world itself.

This made him instinctively uneasy.

"Hey, you idiot brother." Kotori tapped Shido's head lightly with the end of her chopsticks, making a crisp sound and interrupting his daze.

"Even if the sky falls, you still have to eat first. The brain needs sugar, and the stomach needs fuel—that's basic common sense. Only when you're full do you have the energy to solve problems, or perhaps..."

She abruptly changed the subject, a mischievous smile creeping onto her lips. Picking up a tempting piece of meat with her chopsticks, she teased in a sickeningly sweet tone, "...Do you need your adorable little sister to personally 'ah~' feed you?"

"Ugh! No, no need!" Shido was instantly pulled back to reality from his heavy thoughts. Looking at Kotori's face, which held a mix of concern and teasing, he hurriedly waved his hand in refusal, his cheeks slightly flushed. He didn't want to be fed by his sister in front of Reine; that would be too embarrassing.

Watching Shido resume his efforts to eat, though still somewhat absent-minded, Murasame Reine, who had been eating quietly, wiped her mouth with a tissue and spoke slowly. Her voice, with its characteristic calmness that seemed as if she might fall asleep at any moment, hit the nail on the head:

"...Regarding the matter of Chiin, perhaps we should consider confronting him directly."

Shido and Kotori paused simultaneously and looked at Reine.

Reine continued her calm analysis: "The current situation is that Chiin is clearly still caught in the vortex caused by Chinatsu. His unusual behavior yesterday, and his bizarre disappearance today, both prove that there is a profound connection between him and Chinatsu that we have not yet understood. This connection is an excellent target for DEM, which has been searching for and capturing Pokémon."

She paused, her gaze behind her glasses sharpening: "Chika's power is strong and unique; DEM will never let her go. And Chiin, as the only known ordinary person with a strong connection to Chika, is very likely to become a hostage used by DEM to threaten, lure, or even control Chika."

“Hostage…” Shido murmured, repeating the word as he imagined the scene of Chiin being captured by DEM, his stomach churning.

"Moreover," Reine dropped another crucial piece of information, which was also the core reason she proposed to confront him, "according to our latest gene sequence comparison and analysis results, there is a confidence level of over 99.7% that... Phoenix Institute Chiin is Phoenix Institute Chika's biological older brother."

The laboratory was silent. Only the low hum of the instruments could be heard.

“Brother…?” Shido was completely stunned. He recalled Chinatsu’s complex personality, her hidden sorrow and violence, and the anxious and confused figure of Chiin as she searched for “something.” If they really were siblings…

Reine nodded, confirming Shido's guess: "Yes. Although Chiin seems to have no memory of having a younger sister because of Chika, the blood ties and potential deep connections objectively exist. His involvement may provide a crucial breakthrough for us to understand and deal with Chika. His perspective, and the fragments of memory he may have left behind that he himself is unaware of, may be able to unravel the mystery of Chika's personality split and power rampage."

She looked at Shido, her tone carrying a subtle hint of guidance: "This is a direction worth trying for us, for stabilizing Chika's emotions, and even for protecting Chiin's own safety."

Finally, Reine softly added a sentence that struck Shido's heart:

"...At the same time, this may also be an opportunity for Chiin himself. An opportunity...to find his lost sister and fill the void in his life."

Shido remained silent and put down his chopsticks. The food on the table was still tempting, but his mind was now completely focused on the missing boy and the complex being who was both a spirit and his sister.

Should he lay his cards on the table? Tell the boy who knows nothing about it all—the elves, the spacequakes, the threat of DEM, and his lost sister?

This would undoubtedly drag Senin completely into this dangerous world. But... as Reine said, he might already be at the center of the vortex without even realizing it. Keeping him in the dark might actually lead him into even greater danger due to his ignorance.

Moreover, the chance to find her younger sister...

Shido took a deep breath, looked at Kotori and Reine, and his eyes gradually became firm.

“I understand. So, our primary task now is…”

Kotori picked up the conversation, switching into full commander mode, biting her jewel, her tone resolute:

"That's right! Before confronting that idiot, we need to drag him out of his 'mysterious disappearance' state! Everyone, raise the alert level, use all available resources, even if we have to turn Tengu City upside down, we must find Phoenix Inuchi Senin!"

Chapter 191 First Encounter in the Rain

Large raindrops began to fall without warning, instantly soaking Shido's school uniform jacket. He cried out "Whoa!" and hurriedly held his schoolbag above his head, futilely trying to block the sudden downpour.

"What's going on with this weather! It was perfectly fine this morning!"

He grumbled as he quickened his pace, jogging across the slippery sidewalk. His mind was filled with the discomfort of his wet clothes clinging to his skin, and the nagging Kotori might give him when he got home—though she herself often didn't pay attention to it.

Just as he was sprinting with his head down, turning a street corner, wanting to get back to his dry and warm home as soon as possible, his gaze was firmly captured by a figure in front of him.

My pace slowed down unconsciously.

—She was a young girl.

Wearing an adorable, uniquely designed hooded green jacket, her petite figure stood out strikingly on the deserted street.

Most strikingly, she wore a huge cloak decorated with rabbit ears that completely covered her head and face. On her left hand, she wore a rather comical-looking rabbit puppet.

At this moment, the girl was ignoring the increasingly heavy rain and was happily and lightly jumping around on the ground where the rain had accumulated, as if this annoying rainy day was her own personal dance floor.

"What……?"

Shido frowned, not only out of curiosity about the girl's behavior, but also because of an inexplicable attraction.

Why can't I take my eyes off that girl?

The other person's attire was indeed peculiar, but... that wasn't the only reason. A strong, familiar sense of unease gripped him. This feeling... seemed to have returned recently. Where was it? Yes, when he first met Tohka, and... when he faced Chinatsu?

The cold rain trickled down his hair and into his neck, seemingly dispelling the sticky feeling of his soaked clothes. He simply stared, completely absorbed, at the sprites dancing lightly in the rain—

—Thump! I slipped and fell! Aaaaaaaah!

"what……?"

Shido's eyes widened in surprise.

The petite figure slipped and fell heavily to the wet ground, splashing water everywhere. The rabbit puppet in her left hand flew out of her grasp due to the sudden impact and landed a short distance ahead.

The girl remained lying face down, motionless.

"...Hello...Hello!"

After a brief moment of shock, Shido immediately reacted and rushed over in a panic. Ignoring the puddles on the ground, he knelt down and carefully lifted the petite body, helping her turn over so that she was lying on her back.

"Are you... alright? Hey!" he asked anxiously, his voice filled with concern.

Only then did he truly see the girl's face.

She appeared to be around the same age as Kotori. Her flowing hair was the color of the deep blue sea, retaining its lovely curls even when wet from the rain. Her soft lips were a pale cherry blossom color. Fair skin, long eyelashes… she looked like a delicate French doll. At this moment, her eyes were tightly closed.

As if hearing his call, the girl's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened them, revealing eyes as pure as the bluest sapphires. But at that moment, those eyes were filled with confusion, which was quickly replaced by panic.

"Ah...that's good. You're not hurt, are you?" Shido breathed a sigh of relief, trying to make his tone sound gentle.

However, upon seeing his face clearly, the girl's expression instantly turned pale, and her eyes flickered violently, like a frightened deer. She abruptly broke free from Shido's grasp, scrambling backward to create some distance before finally standing up, her entire body trembling uncontrollably, and looking at Shido with eyes filled with fear.

"……that……"

Shido awkwardly raised his hand. Ugh, even though it was to help her, suddenly touching a strange girl's body was definitely too reckless… However, being stared at like that, as if he were a dangerous element, still made him feel a little hurt.

“Well… that’s because, well, I—” he tried to explain.

“…! Please…don’t…come…close to…me…!” the girl cried out in a weak, tearful voice, and took a half step back.

"Huh?" Shido froze on the spot.

"Please...don't...hurt me..."

She then said those words, her voice almost overflowing with fear.

His trembling appearance resembled that of a small animal cornered by a hunter, filled with helplessness and fear.

"that……"

Shido was at a loss for what to do. His gaze swept across the ground and he noticed the fallen, comically shaped rabbit hand puppet.

He must have slipped and fallen just now, right? He slowly bent down, picked up the puppet, gently patted off the dirty water on it, and then handed the puppet to the girl in a way that wouldn't frighten her.

"Is this... yours?" he asked softly.

The girl's eyes widened immediately, her gaze fixed on the puppet, and her body instinctively moved to get closer.

But she stopped abruptly as soon as she took a step. Her face clearly showed her inner struggle: although she desperately wanted to take back the puppet, she was also afraid to get close to this unfamiliar older brother.

She stood there anxiously, her small hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, assessing the opportunity.

Seeing the girl's expression, Shido understood. He gave a helpless, bitter smile, then, still in the gesture of handing over the puppet, he slowly, step by step, approached the girl.

The girl's shoulders trembled slightly as he approached—but perhaps sensing the goodwill in Shido's actions and eyes, and understanding that he simply wanted to return the puppet, the girl also dragged her feet, approaching him extremely slowly and cautiously.

When she was close enough, she almost snatched the puppet back from Shido's hand and immediately put it back on her left hand.

Immediately afterward, under the girl's control, the rabbit puppet's mouth suddenly began to move, making a peculiar, slightly sharp, but energetic sound:

"Hello~ I'm so sorry, big brother. You've really been a great help~"

Is it ventriloquism? Shido looked at the girl with some surprise, but the girl just lowered her head and focused on the puppet.

As if deliberately trying to interrupt any potential direct interaction between Shido and the girl, the rabbit puppet continued talking to itself:

"—Um, that thing~ when you came to the rescue, you seemed to touch many parts of Yoshina's body. How did it feel? Honestly, how did it feel?"

"Wh...what...?" Shido was taken aback by the sudden, somewhat suggestive question.

The hand puppet shook its body, making a laughing gesture.

"You can't fool me~ This pervert is still pretending to be stupid! ...Oh well, you did help us up, so consider this a special service for you!"

“…Ah…ah, is that so…”

Shido could only manage an even more helpless wry smile as he responded to the talkative and eccentric puppet. He felt that talking to this puppet was even more tiring than communicating with the girl herself.

"Okay, bye-bye. Thanks!"

Then, just as the puppet uttered those words, the girl seemed to receive a command, immediately turned around, hugged the puppet, and ran away without looking back.

"Hey!"

Even when Shido called out to her, the girl didn't respond and even ran faster.

Her petite figure shrank rapidly in the rain, nimbly turning a corner, and soon disappeared without a trace.

"So what exactly happened...?"

Shido stood there, staring in astonishment in the direction where the strange girl had disappeared. After several seconds, he scratched his rain-soaked cheek and muttered to himself.

"……what!"