This is not the date I wanted.

[Then, what's the matter, Ms. Liang Yi? ]

"Ah, here's what happened..."

Meng Yue briefly described Shidao's situation today.

"That's right. Shidou is in poor health due to a cold. Our spirits are sealed and we can't use our full strength. Kotori's airship has been sent to the headquarters for renovation. If DEM attacks at this time, we will have difficulty protecting Shidou, let alone ourselves. So——"

[You want me to go back and be your brother's bodyguard, right? Leave it to me! ]

Before Mengyue could finish her words, Zhenna changed his cautious attitude and agreed readily.

"Thank you, Mana. Sorry for the trouble."

[That's not true. I am the one. My elder brother's family is my family. I'm sorry for doubting you just now. Sister Mengyue.]

As if he felt ashamed of his suspicion, Mana honestly apologized to Mengyue and changed back to the respectful name he used in the previous world. This straightforward and cute character is really nothing like his brother Shidao.

"But then again, aren't you still chasing Kurumi? What's the result?"

Meng Yue couldn't help but ask with some curiosity. In the previous world, apart from coming back regularly for physical treatment, Mana spent most of her time looking for Tokisaki Kurumi to stop her from killing innocent people, so they rarely had the opportunity to meet.

[Ah, about this, Kurumi's spiritual wave reaction suddenly left Tiangong City - beep - beep -]

"Really?"

The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly turned into a dead tone, and Meng Yue scratched her hair in confusion. When she was about to redial, she suddenly found that her phone was no longer in service area.

Outside the circle? You must be kidding. This is underground in the city center.

Bilibili--

"Ok?"

Just then, a strange noise suddenly came from the ward. Mengyue couldn't help feeling uneasy and hurried back to the ward.

"Shidou? Are you okay——"

However, the scene before her made Mengyue stunned.

Shidou, who was originally lying on the hospital bed and sleeping, sat up straight without knowing when. He also pulled out the electrodes connected to his body. Blue and white electric light spread all over his body, causing the surrounding equipment to short-circuit.

Meng Yue was certainly not unfamiliar with the phenomenon before her eyes. If she asked why, it was because the lightning was Meng Yue's own power.

(Was the signal just now blocked by Shidou? Did I teach him this technique?)

"Uh... wow..."

Before Mengyue could come up with a conclusion, Shidao suddenly let out an incomprehensible groan, and the electric light on his body gradually dissipated. He got off the bed in a daze, slowly changed his clothes, put on his shoes, and walked towards her with steps like a zombie in Resident Evil.

"Shidou?"

Mengyue tried to call out, but Shidao did not respond. He walked out of the ward swayingly, as if he did not see Mengyue.

After a closer look, Meng Yue discovered that the other person didn't even open his eyes.

"Could this be...sleepwalking?"

Meng Yue guessed with a surprised look on her face. Although she had never heard Shidao say that he had a habit of sleepwalking, she really couldn't find any other explanation for it.

"Ah...what should I do?"

Watching Shidao gradually walking away, Mengyue felt rarely anxious.

The cell phone signal has not been restored yet, so if he wants to notify Kotori and the others, he must run to the meeting room in the opposite direction. But if he leaves Shidou in this state, who knows what problems will arise.

Moreover, waking Shidao up like this is not an option. After all, it is said that forcibly waking a sleepwalker can be harmful to him.

"no solution anymore!"

Helplessly, Mengyue could only grit her teeth and follow the sleepwalking Shidao out of the underground facility.

06 Shidou went berserk, and then...

==============================

Gokawa Shidao's consciousness was in chaos.

My body felt like it was burning and melting, and I couldn't even confirm whether I was still in human form. It was even incredible that I could maintain my balance and walk on my feet.

However, in reality, from the perspective of others, Gokawa Shidao's steps were unusually steady, and he did not look like a patient who had just been lying in bed with a high fever.

(Strange...what am I doing...?)

Shidou was thinking about this question at a snail's pace.

When I woke up, I saw a room I had no memory of. The noises from the various instruments were so clear that they were annoying. I tore off the electrodes and infusion tubes connected to my body because they were in the way. There was nothing wrong with my vision, but for some reason, the things I saw could not be recognized by my brain, and my body was moving only by the remaining instincts.

The scenery in front of him was just a piece of unclear blueprint, in other words, it was no different from a blank piece of paper. It could be said that Shidao was no different from a blind man at this moment.

Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?

With these questions lingering in his mind, Shidao walked on in a daze.

——Great! The signal is finally back. Let me see... I see, when you encounter a sleepwalker, don't try to wake them up by force. The best way is to hold their hand and slowly guide them back to bed.

(who?)

Suddenly, as if coming from a faraway place, a voice reached Shidou's ears.

——OK. Just like that... Calm down, don't be impatient. Slowly~slowly~just walk back like that.

As he finished speaking, Shidou suddenly felt someone gently holding his hand.

(…It’s so cool.)

Unlike Shidou who was burning hot all over, the other person's hands seemed very cold.

(Such a familiar feeling.)

Shidou couldn't help but think. For some reason, he always felt that this was the second time he held the other person's hand today, but he wanted the other person's hand to be warmer than the last time.

However, no matter whether it was cold or warm, Shidou didn't want to let it go.

This voice, this touch, brought Shidao an unprecedented sense of familiarity. An indescribable sense of security surged in his heart.

Immediately afterwards, the sluggish consciousness seemed to be stimulated and gradually became active.

(Oh, by the way… I’m Gokawa Shido.)

The moment I realized this, the white world in my eyes became clear like mist being cleared away.

He was walking on the windy street in his thin school uniform, but in fact, he didn't feel cold at all.

"Okay...just walk slowly like this."

The person walking in front of him was the owner of the voice just now - a woman of the same age with soft long brown hair. She was holding a smartphone in one hand, seemingly looking up some information, and with the other hand, she was holding Shidou's hand and walking slowly. Her originally pretty face was now red from the cold, which made Shidou feel distressed.

(Liang Yi Meng Yue... Elf...)

The memories that emerged in his mind told Shidou that he knew the girl in front of him.

Then the next moment, Shidou understood what he should do.

In order to save the elves in danger, capture them, and make them shy, the boy named Gokawa Shido repeated this behavior countless times.

"Meng Yue...you are so cute."

"……what?"

Hearing the confused Shidou suddenly utter a meaningless line, Mengyue turned her head and looked at Shidou with surprise.

"Are you... awake already? Shidou."

"Well, in a sense, I am awake now. Or rather, I must have been living in a dream before."

Holding Mengyue's hands with both of his own, Shidou looked at her with sincere eyes.

"I didn't realize that you, Mengyue, are such a beautiful and lovable woman. You were so close to me, but I didn't realize it until now. I really want to dig my eyes out."

"——!!!"

Meng Yue suddenly felt a chill on her back and her face turned pale.

"Shidou...can you please stop telling such a cold joke? I'm getting goosebumps."

"I did not lie."

After hearing Meng Yue's words, Shidou did not waver and continued speaking with a gentle smile on his face.

"Meng Yue is such a hard-working, considerate, gentle and lovely girl. I know everything. I have been watching your every move. That is why I want to be with you."

"Shidou..."

Hearing Shidao's words, Mengyue's eyes flashed with surprise. Then, she suddenly looked at Shidao with suspicion and said to herself.

"Someone replaced him? No, he can use my spiritual power, so he can't be a fake. So... is he crazy?"

Shidao: “…”

"Get out of the way! Get away from Mengyue-san quickly, Gokawa Shidao!"

"I was wondering why you suddenly got sick and asked for leave today. It turns out you were planning to reach out to Lily Flower's Meng Yue classmate. There must be a limit to shamelessness!"

"It's really unbearable!"

At this moment, three people suddenly appeared between Mengyue and Shidao and pulled them apart. Mengyue took a look and found that these three people were Shidao's classmates - the trio of Ai, Mai and Mii.

"Why are you here? Who is Lily Flower?"

Looking at the three people who suddenly appeared, Meng Yue complained with a look of surprise.

However, the trio of Ai, Mai and Mii ignored Mengyue's complaints and continued talking to themselves.

"Don't worry, Meng Yue, we will protect you."

"We all know that Meng Yue has no interest in boys. It must be Gokawa Shidao who forced you, right?"

"It's really unbearable."

No, no, no, no, you don't understand at all. Meng Yue looked at the three people with an embarrassed look on her face.

The three of them cast hostile glances at Shidou.

"I misjudged you, Itsuka Shidou. You already have a cute girl like Tohka-chan admiring you, yet you're trying to make advances on other women."

"Meng Yue-chan already has Shizhi-chan as a girlfriend. Stop daydreaming!"

"It's really unbearable."

"Um……"

However, Shidao did not seem to be annoyed by the accusations of the three people. After a moment of silence, he spoke to the three people with affection.

"Yamabuki, Hazakura, Fujihakama... you guys are really cute if you take a closer look."

"Eh?"

Suddenly being called by Shidou's name, the three of them froze as if the TV remote control had been paused.

"Ok?"

As if she had sensed something was wrong, a thoughtful look flashed across Meng Yue's eyes.

Being confessed to by a classmate who they were not close to at all, the three of them initially had an attitude of "this guy finally revealed his true colors" and kept their distance from Shidao cautiously. However, something that surprised Mengyue happened next.

In his impression, the herbivorous virgin Gokawa Shido, who couldn't even pick up a girl without anyone teaching him, now seemed like a playboy who had been in the love field for many years. He used all kinds of sweet words to accurately pry open the psychological defenses of Ai, Mai, and Mii.

"I know very well that you have no feelings for me. I won't force you to become mine, but please allow me to miss you silently in my heart."

As he said this, Shidao clasped his hands together and opened them. Immediately afterwards, three crystal clear ice roses appeared in his hands as if by magic.

"This is!"

Meng Yue's pupils suddenly contracted. She knew that what just happened was not magic, but an ice sculpture created out of thin air by Shidao using Yoshino's control of water and cold air.

"This flower is me. Once the season changes - or rather, it is just an illusory flower that will disappear with the warmth of your palm. Even if it is only for a moment, as long as they can exist in your eyes and leave a mark in your heart, I will have no regrets."

He gently handed the flowers to the three people, and their cheeks turned red when they heard Shidao's romantic words, which sounded like the protagonist in a girls' comic.

"You, remember this, bastard!"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but I feel so sick—"

"I really can't stand it——"

Finally, facing Shidao's enthusiasm, the three of them fled in embarrassment holding the ice flowers in their hands. Meng Yue couldn't help but sigh helplessly. Maybe these three people didn't have any interest in Shidao before, but I don't know what will happen in the future.