This is not the date I wanted.

"This……"

Shidou was speechless for a moment. Indeed, if Rokuko could really do such a thing, then even if Westcott had an omniscient demon king, it would be very difficult to catch Rokuko.

However, there is more reason why Shidou wants to convince Rokuko to return to Earth.

"But there are many happy things on earth. There are many spirits like you. It must be lonely to stay in a place like this, right?"

"Lonely? Not really." Rokuko shook his head gently. "I am deeply concerned about your worry. But this is a misunderstanding. I am not lonely at all."

"How is that possible? Don't be so stubborn. We are all very nice people and will definitely accept you."

"No, I don't like empty words. I have no feelings for loneliness, pain, sadness, anger, or even excitement, joy, pleasure, and love. All the seven emotions and six desires of human beings are locked by me."

"Eh?"

Shidou couldn't help but frowned in confusion.

"Heart... lock...?"

Then, Shidou heard an unimaginable fact from Rokuko's mouth.

The Lord of Unlocking is an angel who can lock up everything in the world. One of his tasks is to put shackles on and seal up people’s emotions—their hearts.

Because of this reason, although Rokuko still retains the ability to communicate normally with people, he is unable to feel any happiness or sadness.

"I dropped the falling rocks not out of anger, but only to warn those who disturbed my sleep."

After hearing what Rokuko said, Shidou realized that Rokuko had not shown any emotion when answering his questions from beginning to end.

If he had previously seen Origami as a cold puppet with no emotions to read, then Rokuko gave him the impression of being more like a hermit, or an immortal who had seen through the mundane world.

Shidou couldn't help but grit his teeth at the thought of Rokuko drifting in this boring darkness.

"That... that's really too sad, isn't it? Please, come back to Earth. I want you to be happy."

"..."

After staring at Shidou in silence for a while, Rokuko said slowly,

"——Itsuka Shido. You seem to have misunderstood."

"misunderstanding?"

"That's right. - My happiness is not something you can decide on your own."

"..."

Shidou was speechless for a moment.

Without getting violent or excited, Rokuko continued speaking calmly.

"It is true that there are elves saved by you - I have no intention of denying this. However, I am myself, and I am content with the status quo. What you did is meaningless to me. To me, whether it is salvation or happiness, it is all meddling. You did this only to use me to satisfy your own sense of accomplishment."

"..."

Looking at Shidou who remained silent, Rokuko continued to express his own opinions.

"And, if you seal my power, can you really live a safer life than here? So far, the elves you and your organization have rescued have never been attacked by the enemy after sealing them?"

"……call."

Shidou let out a breath, a wry smile on his face. To be honest, Rokuko's pointed questioning gave him the illusion that he was confronting someone else.

"…Why are you laughing? Are you mocking me?"

"No, no! I was just thinking that if I hadn't been asked a similar question before, I would have been speechless by now."

He quickly shook his head to clarify the misunderstanding. Then, Shidou seemed to relax the strength in his shoulders and answered seriously word by word,

"Indeed, it's just as you said. Even if the spiritual power is sealed, our lives are not safe and secure. The enemy has indeed attacked us many times."

"Then why..."

"So. I will protect them!" Shidou shouted before Rokuko, "Since the moment I sealed their spiritual power, I swore that no matter what happens, no matter what kind of danger I encounter, I will do my best to protect them. I have such determination and such confidence!"

Staring into Shidou's eyes, Rokuko said slowly,

"… If so, I understand that what you said is not an exaggeration. I will take back some of my words. But even so, I am drifting in my own decision at this moment, and you still have no reason to impose your goodwill on me."

"Hmph, you never know."

Hearing Rokuko's words, Shidou smiled.

"…What do you mean by that?"

"If you really choose to stay here, you don't have to seal your feelings. You don't feel lonely because you have locked your heart? Isn't it strange? Isn't it because you can't stand loneliness that you lock your heart?"

Shidou looked into Rokuko's eyes and said with confidence.

At this moment, after a long silence, Rokuko finally spoke,

"I have no memory of the past... I cannot answer whether your assumption is true or not. However, the fact that I once fell into misfortune because of my feelings no longer has any meaning to me today."

"Yes. For you who have sealed your emotions, this may be an insignificant matter. But it is enough for me to take action."

Hoshimiya Rokuku did not choose to stay here, but escaped here.

"Eating, playing, sleeping, even studying boring textbooks at school, in my opinion, are much happier and more interesting than hiding in this empty universe and staring blankly!"

"Boring. This is just your opinion. Don't impose your prejudice on me, hypocrite."

Seemingly having lost interest in Shidou, Rokuko waved his staff and pointed it at the earth with a hint of threat.

"This conversation ends here. All I pray for is eternal peace. If any criminals appear here again, I will use the power of the Lord of Unsealing to stop the movement of the planet."

"Varied--!?"

Hearing this, Shidou's eyes widened in surprise.

"Please tell this to your friend, Ichi, too. Then, farewell, Itsuka Shido."

As he spoke, Rokuko raised his staff and inserted it into the autonomous camera that was projecting the image.

"I won't give up! Rokuko!"

Realizing Rokuko's plan, Shidou shouted with all his might at the last moment before the image disappeared.

"I will definitely come to you again. At that time, I will unlock your heart and let you be redeemed—"

--【close】.

—————————————————————————I am the dividing line for transferring scenes——————————————

The scene in front of them turned back to the familiar underground command room. Perhaps it was because the autonomous camera in the universe had been sealed by Rokuko. After that, Kotori and others tried several more times to project Shidou's image into the universe, but they all failed.

"Sorry guys, I failed."

Shidou lowered his head in shame. If he hadn't been so angry at the time, he might have been able to answer Rokuko's question in a smoother way.

"There's no need to bow your head and apologize. You said it very well, Shidou-kun!"

"Dimension Destroyer" Nakatsugawa walked up and patted Shidao on the back, looking very happy.

"Ah, you looked really cool when you refuted Rokuko just now. I was really excited just by watching you."

"Is that so?"

Shidou scratched his cheek a little embarrassedly. Kawagoe, who was "getting tired too quickly", nodded in agreement.

"That's right. A man should have his own bottom line. If you lose momentum at the crucial moment just now, it will be difficult to stand up again."

"Your wife divorced you the next day, didn't she?"

"--puff."

"Well... don't take Kawagoe's words seriously. But when you said you didn't plan to give up just now, you did a good job, Shidou-kun."

"Indeed. His words completely negate our work. Although there will be no actual loss, it will still be a bit depressing if we don't refute him. Come on, Shidao-kun, we will support you."

In response to this, female crew members such as "Straw Doll" Shiizaki and "Protective Observation Disciplinary Action" Minowa also expressed their approval and support for Shidao.

"Really..." Kotori sighed helplessly and said to Shidou, "It's good that you didn't get defeated by Rokuko just now, but don't get carried away like that, Shidou."

"Yes, I know."

Shidou nodded.

To be honest, if he hadn't spent a whole night thinking about this question in the virtual world, Shidao felt that he would be questioned by Rokuko to the point of being unbearable. But now, he already had the answer in his heart.

It is not to act like a puppet of others, nor to gain a sense of accomplishment by saving the elves. Instead, it is to reach out to the elves with your own will, understand the suffering of the elves, and then find ways to help them.

To do this, the first thing Shidou has to do is to unlock the lock on Rokuko's heart that blocks all of his emotions.

"Kotori, please help me this time too."

"what are you talking about?"

Hearing Shidou's words, Kotori shrugged with a hint of amusement.

"Everyone here has decided to gather together to save the elves. Even if you don't say it, we will continue."

"…Um, I'm sorry to bother you guys when you're having such a good time. Can I come in now?"

Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice, only to see Meng Yue leaning against the frame of the automatic door, looking at them helplessly.

"Mengyue, you're here. Is everything alright at school?"

"Well, everyone has safely taken refuge in the air-raid shelter. It seems that in order to avoid secondary damage caused by the meteorite, the school has issued a notice to suspend classes, and the specific time is still under discussion."

After briefly reporting the situation on her side to everyone, Meng Yue walked into the command room and turned her gaze to the video of Hoshimiya Rokuko playing on the screen.

"Is this the new elf, Hoshimiya Rokuko?"

"Yeah, that's right. Eh? Mengyue, how do you know her name?"

Shidou asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"When I came here just now, Junai told me about the progress here, and I almost heard the conversation between you and Rokuko."

"Y-really?"

"give up."

"Eh?"

Shidou couldn't help but make a puzzled sound. Mengyue turned around and looked at Shidou, and spoke in a very calm and straightforward tone.

"Give up on this elf attack, Shidou."

PS: I would like to inform you that this novel may be published at the end of this year or early next year, so please be mentally prepared.

07 Incompatibility

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

"Give up on this elf attack, Shidou."

When Shidou heard Mengyue's words, he was stunned for a moment.

"Meng Yue...I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

As if suspecting that he had misheard something, Shidou asked hesitantly.

"I mean, you should give up on capturing this elf called Hoshimiya Rokuko."

There was no change in her expression as Meng Yue spoke word by word. Her clear voice was so harsh in Shidao's ears.

"..."

He did not hear any auditory hallucinations, but after confirming this, Shidou did not feel relieved. On the contrary, he felt a sense of emptiness as if his feet were not on solid ground, and his thoughts were like a tangled mess of silk threads.

Give up? What is Meng Yue talking about?

Conquer the elves, seal their spiritual powers, allow them to escape the pursuit of magicians, and help them live an ordinary life. Otherwise, they will always be in pain and loneliness.

Obviously Mengyue should know this better than me.

"Dream……"

Looking at Mengyue's face, Shidao wanted to ask her the reason, but he seemed to be afraid of something in his heart, and he closed his mouth without saying anything.

"... For the time being, can you tell us why you proposed this, Sister Mengyue?"

Kotori sighed softly, keeping her tone calm, and asked the question on behalf of Shidou.

"It's a very simple matter. Because in my opinion, there is no need for Hoshimiya Rokuko to be sealed."