This is not the date I wanted.

Just when Kotori's all-night plan came to nothing, Shidou picked a good time and used the trick given by Yumezuki. He picked out a line from the comic "Love Is Really Fucking Easy" that he thought was the right answer and said it out loud. (Note: This line was taken from the comic "Love Is Really Hard for Otakus and Fujoshis".)

——I am willing to accompany you to collect materials, level up, do housework, and finish manuscripts. I am willing to accompany you no matter what you do, and I will never let you down or make you cry. More importantly, I am willing to be your poster at the comic exhibition.

"Hmm... that's right... strange..."

Hearing this, Meng Yue was a little depressed. Shidao did not misunderstand her meaning, but played it well. In her opinion, such a confession should be a fatal blow to a otaku like Niya.

"In fact, Erya's favorability rose to the maximum value in an instant. Then, the next second, it dropped completely back down."

Kotori explained helplessly.

Can you still play like this? Meng Yue looked embarrassed.

According to the two people's description, Erya's reaction at that time was like this -

……

“Cai—stop, stop, stop. That was a close call. I almost got caught.”

In response to Shidou's confession, Nia almost instinctively nodded in agreement, but seemed to react halfway through, and took a few steps back to distance herself from Shidou, muttering to herself with admiration.

"As expected of Bili-chan, this move is really ruthless... But! You missed one point - the boy can't do this at all, his level is not even a little bit lower than Er Teng! I won't be fooled so easily!"

……

"That's it……"

"Oh, what a troublesome woman!"

Meng Yue couldn't help but cover her head with a headache.

However, it is true as she said. Shidou not only has Nia, but also has spirits like Tohka and Shiono to take care of. It is impossible for him to be with Nia 24 hours a day. If you know this, and then hear these words from Shidou, you will simply think that he is just bragging and wants to get something for nothing.

Then, what happened next was not unexpected. Kotori and the others tried their best to capture Niya, but all of them fell on deaf ears and did not bring any waves to Niya. Seeing that the date was about to end, Kotori, unwilling to fail, accepted the proposal of "Dimension Destroyer" Nakatsugawa and let Shido cosplay as Niya's favorite character - Tokiyo, the protagonist of "Chronobi Kisaragi".

"It's over. I can guess that without hearing the rest of the story."

Meng Yue said this almost decisively.

"As you said... Shidou was kicked out... Sister Mengyue, do you know why Niya was angry at that time?"

Kotori admitted her failure with a wry smile and asked in confusion.

"Sigh... it's hard to explain since you're not in the industry. For example, one day, Kanna Tsuki suddenly dressed up as Shidou and said to you, 'I'm not interested in elves and sisters at all, they're all crooked. Philosophy and men are my only destiny'——"

"Wait! I can't pretend I didn't hear you! My only long-cherished wish from the beginning to the end is to be stepped on by the commander's slender and beautiful legs - Oops!"

"Well, if it were me, I would definitely beat him to death... I guess I was crazy at the time..."

After knocking the protesting Kannazuki to the ground with one punch, Kotori sighed helplessly.

Seeing that the means in reality don't work on Nia, Kotori comes up with a plan. She sends a communication software connected to this place disguised as a PC game to Nia, and then lets Shidou play a game character named "Goshu" and have conversations and dates with Nia through the game interface to improve their favorability.

Since Nia only likes the two-dimensional world, let Shidou be a two-dimensional character to improve her favorability. From the perspective of the method alone, Mengyue also admits that this is indeed a unique move.

However, the prerequisite for the success of this trick is that Erya does not have the omniscient angel.

Halfway through the game, Erya couldn't resist her curiosity and used the Whispering Book to investigate the game's manufacturer, and as expected, she found the answer to Kotori's question.

If the favorability reaches a qualified value, and Shidao confesses his identity and apologizes, Niya may maintain that favorability and forgive them. But if Niya exposes Shidao and his tricks, the nature is completely different.

According to Kotori, Nia almost had a falling out with Shidou at that time.

"This is really..."

For a moment, Meng Yue didn't know what to say. After all, although Shidou and Kotori's actions were a bit extreme, they couldn't be said to be wrong. Although Niya's attitude seemed unreasonable, it was a normal reaction if you think about it carefully. If you have to find a word to describe it, it can only be said to be - chaos.

"Then, what are you going to do next? You're not going to tell me you want to give up, are you?"

"of course not."

Kotori shook her head, holding the stick in her mouth, and said unyieldingly,

"I just discussed with Tohka and the others. Since Nia likes the anime, let's draw a comic with Shidou as the protagonist, so that she can understand that Shidou will never lose to the protagonists of those comics. At the same time, I will also send someone to investigate the reason why Nia likes the anime and look for clues that will be useful for the strategy."

Drop drop drop-

Just then, the landline phone on the conference room table suddenly rang.

"This is... Erya's phone number."

Seeing the number on the caller ID, Shidou and Mengyue looked at each other and said at the same time.

"Well, it's not surprising that an omniscient angel like the Whispering Annunciation knows about our coded phone lines."

Kotori frowned and muttered something. After hesitating for a moment, she chose to answer the call.

[——Hey, is it connected? Boy, Bili-chan? ]

"Eiya..."

Hearing Erya's voice, everyone's faces couldn't help but become solemn.

[Honestly, I'm very disappointed! I sacrificed my precious study time to accompany the young man, but in return you insulted Zhu Luye and my innocence. Especially you, Bili-chan, I thought you, as a otaku, would understand this. ]

"Uh... this idea wasn't mine... why are you blaming me?"

Meng Yue couldn't help but muttered quietly. However, Er Ya didn't seem to hear Meng Yue's mumbling and continued.

[Forget it... It looks like you guys are planning to change your strategy. That's good, but there's a fatal flaw in this plan.]

"Loophole?"

Shidou showed a puzzled expression.

[Well, suppose you can publish a comic book. But what obligation do I have to read your comic book? ]

"--Well!"

It seems that Shidou was also worried about this problem, but now that it was pointed out by Niya, he was suddenly speechless.

[Right! Don't look at me like this, I'm super busy at work, and I'm giving Bilijiang face by making time to date the boy this time. And even if I finish my work, I still have a lot of books to read. How can I have the time to read a bunch of third-rate comics drawn by a bunch of amateurs with impure motives? How can I read the comics made by you who blaspheme Zhu Lu Ye! ? ]

As she spoke, Niya's voice began to sound a little angry, and it seemed that she was really angry about Shidou's actions at that time.

Just as Nia was about to hang up, Kotori suddenly interrupted.

"Say, you can't generalize this. According to you, as long as the comics are valuable, you will read them, right?"

【oh? 】

Niya's voice was full of surprise. Then, Kotori continued.

"If the comics we make are better than yours in some way, don't you think they are worth reading?"

[Haha! Okay, that's true. But what is considered interesting? Everyone has their own judgment. Even if you say it's interesting, do you think I will agree?]

"It is indeed as you said. However, regarding this point, there is actually an absolute standard that is the same for everyone."

[Absolute standard...? ]

(I see……)

Hearing this, Mengyue seemed to understand Qinli's plan and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Sure enough, seeing that Niya had taken up her conversation, Kotori raised the corners of her mouth slightly and spoke in a somewhat provocative tone.

"Yeah. That's sales!"

【——! !? 】

As if he had heard a huge joke, Erya burst into laughter and asked back with a slightly disdainful tone.

[Hehe...hahahaha! Interesting. Very interesting! You mean, you want to win against me, against Honjo Souji, by using the sales of your books. Are you serious?]

"Yeah, that's right. If we win, you have to read carefully. What do you think? Do you accept it?"

【……I see. 】

After a moment of silence, Erya responded in a calm and serious tone. A professional cartoonist was challenged head-on by an amateur who was not even a novice. If his refusal was regarded as an escape, it would be a huge joke.

[Since it has come to this, I will accompany you one more time. This time I will defeat you thoroughly.]

After saying that, Erya sneered and hung up the phone.

……

"Shidou, who was the one who blamed us for provoking Miku during the Ten'ou Festival?"

"Reporting to Mengyue, it's Qinli."

"I see. Speaking of which, when we were solving the Seven Sins puzzle, do you still remember my comments on using competition strategies, Shidou?"

"Thinking that you can conquer a Pokémon just by winning or solving a puzzle, you can put that idea aside after Miku's lesson. - That's what you said."

"I see. Then who was the person who just added fuel to the fire and provoked the already furious Niya?"

“…Aaaaaaaaaah! Okay, it’s me! That person is me! Can’t I just admit that I was impulsive!?”

Listening to the innuendos in the conversation between Mengyue and Shidao, Kotori finally couldn't stand the pressure anymore and shouted in self-destruction.

"Well... I don't mean to blame you for anything, but with your abilities at that time, Kotori-chan should have been able to handle it better."

Meng Yue said with a wry smile.

"Because...she said the comics we were going to draw were third-rate..."

Kotori turned her head away and muttered quietly.

According to Kotori's plan, the comic they want to present is a story about Shidou saving spirits. Strictly speaking, it is to copy the real experience into the comic. Regardless of whether the finished comic is good or bad, in Kotori's heart, her brother is a hero who is no less than any comic protagonist.

If you listen carefully to what Nia said, you can say that she was denying Shidou in front of Kotori.

"Thank you, Kotori."

Shidou gently stroked Kotori's head and spoke softly.

"I haven't done anything worthy of thanks! I'm not saying this specifically for anyone, so don't misunderstand me, stupid Shidou!"

But despite what she said, Kotori did not pull away Shidou's hand. She just lowered her head so that Mengyue and Shidou would not see her blushing face.

"Hi hi."

Shidou chuckled, then turned his gaze to Mengyue and asked,

"Mengyue, let's continue with the previous topic. Can you also help with the comics?"

"What can I say to you, Shidou, for asking for favors while you are showing affection to your own sister?"

Sighing silently, Mengyue shrugged and nodded.

"Well, Kotori-chan is different from you. She must be sure of winning before she does this. Since you guys still refuse to give up after this, I'll keep you company for a while. And—"

Looking at the phone that had just hung up, a hint of unhappiness flashed across Meng Yue's eyes.

"Even though he's my favorite cartoonist, to be honest... I'm a little angry too."

12 Preparation

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

"Hee hee~"

Walking between the buildings late at night, the girl in a black and red dress - Tokisaki Kurumi - couldn't help but smile.

In order to find the escaped second elf, she has been lurking in Tiangong City, using clones to collect intelligence.

Originally, Kuang San thought that with her clone's intelligence gathering ability, she would be able to find the other party quickly. But she didn't expect that after a month, she couldn't find any information about the second spirit's whereabouts.

It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth. If she hadn't occasionally been able to feel the fluctuations in his spiritual power when he used the angel technique, Kuang San would have almost suspected that he had already left Tiangong City.

Every time, it was just a little bit closer. The second spirit was indeed in this city, but the problem was that the other party seemed to understand the layout and action patterns of the clones, and was always able to avoid Kuang San's eyes.

Clearly, they were only one step away from achieving their goal, but this step had been stuck for a whole month. One can imagine how depressed Kuang San was.

However, an unexpected breakthrough suddenly appeared. The second elf he had been looking for actually took the initiative to contact Gokawa Shidao and Ryougi Yumezuki.

When she heard the news from her clone, Kuang San was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth.

"Really, I accidentally owed Shidou-san and Mengyue-san another favor. Really, what should I do if I hesitate when it comes to eating Shidou-san? It's really troublesome~"

Having said that, at this moment, Kuang San's face was full of excitement and joy.

Flying in the deep night sky, the bottomless darkness concealed the color of the girl's spiritual clothes and did not attract anyone's attention.

--arrive.