This is not the date I wanted.

However, if something like this really happened, I would probably just sigh and say, "There's nothing we can do about it."

That's all.

"Don't move."

Suddenly, Lingyin felt a cold, hard object pressing against the back of her head.

"Is there anything wrong... Mengyue..."

There was no fluctuation in his voice as Ling Yin asked without even turning his head.

"Oh? You recognized it was me right away."

"You don't have any plans to hide, do you?"

"Well~"

Ling Yin stared at the computer. Although she couldn't see the expression of the brown-haired girl in her reflection on the screen, she could still notice the smile on her lips.

"Network processing? Lingyin, you are really something. Just come to me for this kind of thing. I can solve it perfectly in less than a minute."

"...After all, you worked so hard yesterday...I'm sorry to bother you..."

"That's not true. No matter how you look at it, you seem to be more tired. I'm really sorry to bother you all the time."

"You're welcome……"

The girl spoke to Lingyin in the same tone as always. Just by listening to the content, Lingyin thought that she just came to comfort her.

If you ignore the object that is now against your forehead.

"...Then, what's going on?"

Lingyin asked doubtfully.

"It's nothing serious. I just wanted you to keep me company while I talk to myself."

"..."

If that was the case, was it necessary to threaten me with a gun? Ling Yin did not complain, but waited in silence for Meng Yue's next words.

"As for me, I've actually been thinking about what conditions Phantom uses to choose humans to become elves." Meng Yue said, "Kotori, Miku, and Origami, these three are undoubtedly elves transformed by her hands. So I've been wondering if there is anything in common between these three people."

"…So, what did you find?"

"Absolutely not."

Meng Yue answered in a very cheerful voice.

"Although the three do have some similarities, it's not enough to say that they have a lot in common. And considering the possibility that the phantom created more than just these three spirits, the current information is not enough to infer the phantom's intentions. But -"

Suddenly, Meng Yue changed the subject.

"I have a vague idea of ​​the conditions for transforming humans into elves."

Five years ago, on Kotori's birthday, she was not accompanied by her family. She hated loneliness and made a wish to change herself.

A year ago, Miku was abandoned by her fans due to an unfounded scandal and fell into depression, unable to sing. She prayed to sing again.

A month ago, in order to avenge her parents, Origami, who was bound by a sense of powerlessness, began to seek the power to kill elves without any bottom line.

"When the phantom appears, it happens to be when they have unfulfilled wishes, or when they want to gain power. So thinking about it the other way around, is it possible that the phantom deliberately appears at this time? In other words—"

"...If you want to turn a human into an elf, you need their consent... Is that what you mean?"

"As expected of you, Lingyin, you came to the same conclusion as me."

Hearing Lingyin's reply, Mengyue behind her made a satisfied voice.

"I see... This possibility is indeed very high... But even if it is so, what's the problem?"

"Say, at first I thought it was just an insignificant detail. But, after the origami in this world were turned into elves, my mind changed."

Hearing Mengyue's words, Lingyin's brows twitched slightly.

"The origami in this world is what you said before, about changing history together with Shidou?"

"To be precise, the person who changed history was Shidou. I just took some precautions. Let's get back to the point——"

After slightly correcting Lingyin's words, Mengyue continued,

"Why, after history changed, did Phantom still choose Origami?"

"..."

"Well, it's not something that can't be explained. It seems that Phantom had fought with Origami who had turned into a spirit five years ago. It's understandable that he was influenced by the idea that 'my future self will give the spirit crystal to Origami Tobiichi'. The real question is, how did Phantom turn Origami in this world into a spirit?"

Unlike Origami in the previous world, Origami Tobiichi did not have a kin-killing feud with the elves, and her life was relatively fulfilling. Logically speaking, there was no reason for her to accept the spirit crystal and become an elf.

If it comes to the best time to take action, Mengyue thinks that the most appropriate time was when Origami's parents died in a car accident four years ago. At that time, Origami was obviously the most depressed and mentally immature.

As for why she didn't take action, the only explanation is probably that Phantom judged that Origami, who was fighting with her at the time, was older.

"However, we can't generalize. Even the strongest people have flaws. It's possible that Origami in this world was bewitched by the phantom and accepted the spirit crystal. But, if this is to happen, does the phantom have to monitor Origami 24 hours a day? In other words, does it have to stay within the range where Origami can quickly detect any abnormality?"

Ling Yin couldn't help but fall into deep thought about Meng Yue's inference. After a moment of silence, she asked with some uncertainty.

"You mean...she has been staying in Tiangong City?"

"Just yesterday, the phantom appeared. She helped me when I was almost defeated, and then left me these few words."

Without paying attention to Lingyin's question, Mengyue jumped to the next topic.

——It doesn't matter. I didn't need to accept your thanks. After all, the original plan was to appear when the satellite launched the attack. I just didn't expect that you would resolve the danger with your own strength.

——Then, it was a sudden impulse. That person will definitely be saved, but I suddenly became curious about how far you and my child can go.

"Children... you mean Tohka and the others."

"Given the situation at the time, that should be correct. Although that is also a cause for concern, the first sentence is what's important now."

"...?"

Seeing Lingyin's puzzled expression, Mengyue asked in a deep voice,

"Why does the Phantom know about the existence of Dáinsleif?"

"…………"

"From the tone of the phantom at that time, she seemed to have known that the satellite would attack Shidao and had prepared for defense in advance. But in fact, there are only a handful of people who know the true purpose of the satellite."

The satellite was built after Kotori was sealed. The designers of Ratatoskr scattered the design drawings into several pieces and distributed them to branches around the world to make parts. Finally, after assembling them, they launched them into space under the pretext of observing the climate. It can be said that even most of the employees of Ratatoskr did not know its true purpose.

Even Mengyue herself only found out after hacking into Ratatoskr's database.

"Sigh... Although we can draw a conclusion here, I'd better be safe and make a guess. Phantom, or Phantom's accomplice, is in Ratatoskr. And, combined with your guess just now, Lingyin, Phantom is in Tiangong City--"

Tiangong City.

Ratatoskr.

If we investigate only one of the above conditions, it would be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. However, there are surprisingly few people who meet both conditions.

"The phantom... is in Fraxinus..."

After reaching this conclusion, even Ling Yin couldn't help but look solemn.

"Hmph... This is what they mean by the darkest place under the lamp. Fortunately, I have checked the backgrounds of everyone on the airship long ago. Not to mention the ordinary employees, even Gan Ben and the others have been investigated. Although everyone's past is full of flaws, they are undoubtedly true. Even Kannozuki left a confirmed student record in the school before he became the AST ace. Only you, Reine."

Having said this, Meng Yue's voice became even colder.

After all, there is a certain gap between a real identity and a fabricated false identity.

Place of birth, personal household registration, family composition, and upbringing. If it is a real identity, then when investigating these, various irrelevant information will also be found, such as when the person lost his job, the number of divorce records, the frequency of going to a certain store every month, and the criminal record left in a certain period.

These things usually do not appear in false identity information, which only records the minimum information required for a person to exist reasonably in society.

As long as you look deeper, the difference between the two can be easily determined.

"You are the only one whose identity record before entering Ratatoskr was forged."

——Crack!

At the same time, a sound came from behind, and Ling Yin knew that it was the sound of the gun's safety lock being unlocked.

"...I am the Phantom...Is that what you mean?"

Murasame Reine asked in a slow, sleepy voice, as always.

"…Let me ask a few questions."

Once again ignoring Lingyin's question, Mengyue changed the subject.

"Do you know a girl named "Mio"? This is the name Mana heard from the runaway Shidou. It seems that she is an old acquaintance of Shidou."

"……do not know."

"Do you think that the girl named 'Mio' is the same person as the phantom?"

"……do not know."

"That's it..."

Looking at Murasame Reine's calm face on the screen, Mengyue pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Then why did you call Shidou by his nickname 'Makoto' instead of his real name? You didn't call me or Kotori by that name."

"……………………"

"No comment...? Never mind. I don't intend to ask questions about other people's privacy. So, one last question."

Meng Yue stared at Ling Yin and asked.

"Is Murasame Reion an enemy of Itsuka Shido?"

“……………………”

Silence, another long silence. But this time, she didn't refuse to answer. She seemed to be hesitating and struggling for something. After a long time, Ling Yin finally gave an answer.

"Now... not..."

"...Now? In other words...only now?"

After repeating Ling Yin's words several times, Meng Yue's voice began to reveal a hint of murderous intent.

Lingyin couldn't help but admire Mengyue's ability to always grasp the key points of the problem.

But, that’s all.

"Then there is nothing I can do. I can't leave Shidou in such danger..."

Pointing the muzzle of the gun at the back of Lingyin's head, Liangyi Mengyue pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

——Boo~

Ok?

The sound was slightly different from what she had expected, and there was an almost insignificant impact at the back of her head, causing Lingyin to tilt her head in confusion.

"...BB bullets?"

Seeing the plastic bullet rolling to her feet, Ling Yin couldn't help feeling a little confused.

“Pfft—hahahahahaha!”

At the same time, the heavy murderous aura behind her suddenly disappeared. Ling Yin turned around and saw Liang Yi Meng Yue, who was holding her stomach and laughing heartily.

"Ah - the operation was a great success! I'm so lucky to see your expression like this. This is the FN57. It's the secondary weapon used by the protagonist of the second season of "Sword Beep - Domain". I specially customized it from a specialized model shop. How is it? It's exactly the same as in the original book!"

"This one……"

Lingyin looked troubled as she watched Mengyue showing off the model gun in front of her with a complacent look on her face.

"Ah? The topic just now? It must be made up~ You really got into the role, Lingyin. You're just a phantom or something - I never said such a thing from beginning to end."

"..."

"After all, I am a pragmatic person. I will not jump to conclusions without solid evidence. And even if I take a step back, anyone who thinks that he can kill an unknown elf like Phantom with a pistol is absolutely a fool."

Playing with the model gun in her hand, Meng Yue said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Suddenly, the music of the anime theme song sounded in Mengyue's pocket.

"Oh, sorry, I have to take a call."

Making an apologetic gesture towards Lingyin, Mengyue took a few steps back, turned her back to Lingyin, and pressed the call button.

Lingyin's face didn't look very good. Mengyue's explanation of it being a "prank" didn't make her relax. Instead, it made her look at Mengyue with a wary look for the first time.