This is not the date I wanted.

09 Fraxinus——EX!!

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——Buzz buzz buzz!

The low, vibrating sound caused by the rotation of the rotors filled Shidao Gokawa's eardrums. Looking outside through the window, he could see a clear blue sky with white clouds constantly passing through his field of vision.

At this time, Shidao had left the temporary command room in the basement of Tengu City and boarded Ratatoskr's transport helicopter.

"what……"

Shidou sighed tiredly.

Although it is a very interesting experience, if you keep staring at the same scenery for several hours, even the freshest scenery will become boring.

Perhaps taking a short break would be a good choice. In fact, most of the elves who came with him were asleep in their seats.

However, for some reason, Shidao could not sleep peacefully like everyone else. He could only count the number of clouds in his mind before reaching his destination.

"Kotori, where are we going?"

Shidou couldn't help but ask.

"You'll know then."

Kotori answered, shaking the lollipop in her hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m not doubting you. It’s just that the place we’re going to next can be said to be the lifeblood of our Ratatoskr. Well, it’s about time—”

[——Commander, we have reached our destination.]

As if the timing was perfect, the pilot's announcement came from inside the plane.

"It seems like I have a timer inside me."

Kotori clapped her hands and shouted loudly after making a joke.

"Okay, we're about to get ready for landing, everyone hurry up."

"Hmm...are we there yet..."

Tohka, who was originally resting her head on Shidou's left shoulder, opened her eyes dazedly, with a drop of saliva still at the corner of her mouth.

"Sorry... Shidou, I accidentally fell asleep."

"It's okay." Shidou shook his head with a wry smile, lowered his head, and looked at Origami Tobiichi who was sleeping soundly on his right leg since everyone fell asleep an hour ago.

"Um... Miss Origami, we're about to get off the plane. To be honest, my legs are a little numb."

"..."

Origami, who was "soundly asleep", ignored Shidou's words and turned over on the bench, her head facing the inside of Shidou's thigh, exhaling gently and warmly.

"That, that..."

"—!!"

Compared to Shidou who looked troubled and embarrassed, veins bulged on Kotori's forehead.

"Origami, if you keep pretending to sleep, I'm going to leave you here and send you back to Tiangong City."

"……cut."

After a little struggle, everyone finally woke up the "sleeping" Origami from Shidou's lap.

Afterwards, Shidao and others got off the helicopter under the guidance of the staff.

It was a little different from what Shidou had imagined. Rather than a helicopter landing and take-off site, this place was more like an exaggerated sealed dome. The solid metal walls covered the sky like a skylight. Dozens of large lamps replaced the sun as the light source of the space. All around, Shidou could see all kinds of complex mechanical parts and many busy staff.

"Everyone, this way."

After communicating with the staff here, Kotori called Shidou and others and her crew to a huge hangar door.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So cool. Sister-chan, can you let me take a picture for the comics?"

Looking around with eyes wide open, Erya couldn't help but speak with interest.

"Of course not. This is top secret."

Without any hesitation, Kotori poured cold water on Erya. After she input a series of complicated passwords, an electronic sound rang out and the door slowly moved to both sides.

"Oh--"

Everyone couldn't help but sigh.

What appeared before Shidao was a huge aerial ship.

The sharp hull made of white and glass, with the main gun port in the middle, the stern extending like the branches of a giant tree, and the leaf-shaped wings shining with metallic brilliance, is definitely unique even among existing airships.

"Is this Fraxinus?"

Shidou asked with some doubt. Although the appearance and structure of the aerial ship are basically the same, after careful observation, he could notice that there are many differences in details between the aerial ship in front of him and the Fraxinus in his memory.

"of course."

After answering in the affirmative, Kotori raised her eyebrows in triumph and loudly declared with pride.

"This is an improved version equipped with Ratatoskr's most advanced manifestation device, with all-round performance improvement - its name is Fraxinus EX!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Kanna Tsuki behind her spread her limbs to form an "X" shape, and the other team members also stood on the left and right of Kotori in tacit understanding, posing in symmetrical standing postures that were extremely chuuni. Reine stood aside, scattering colored confetti with an expressionless face.

"E, EX......?"

Not knowing how to react, Shidou showed a bit of embarrassment on his face.

"Yes. Although it happened in the last world, it is an indisputable fact that I was powerless against Allen Mathers' Goetia, so I sent Fraxinus back to the headquarters for upgrading. It took me a lot of effort from the approval of the application to the completion of the transformation."

Kotori chuckled and said in a self-deprecating tone.

On November 11, the day when Shidou, Yumezuki and Tokisaki Kurumi changed history, Kotori led her subordinates and fought two aerial battles with Mathers.　

Considering the safety of the elves staying on the airship, Kotori chose a conservative defensive tactic, so she did not suffer a defeat, but at the same time, she did not win either.

Kotori knew very well that she did not choose defense at that time, but defense was her only choice. Judging from the mobility and firepower displayed by the airship named Goetia, Kotori would definitely lose if they fought head-on.

Of course, Kotori had no intention of swallowing this grievance. So after she recovered her memory, she decisively sent Fraxinus back to the headquarters for transformation and upgrading, so that it could better cope with the next battle and avenge the previous humiliation.

"Next, if we want to go to the universe to meet Miss Rokuko, we must rely on it to take us there. With its speed, it will reach the destination in no time."

As she spoke, Kotori made a gesture of throwing a paper airplane. When they heard that they were going to take this airship to space, everyone's eyes became hot.

"Well, there are still some fine-tuning to be done. There's still some time before takeoff, but there's no problem getting on board - ah, that's right."

Halfway through her words, Kotori seemed to remember something and turned her gaze towards Shidou.

"Shidou, someone said he wants to see you."

"Ok?"

After hearing what Kotori said, Shidou seemed a little confused.

"Who wants to see me?"

"I'll know when I see you."

Afterwards, Shidao and the others were teleported into the interior of Fraxinus EX.

Compared to the exterior, the changes inside the ship were much more obvious. The interior space became more spacious, the number of display screens increased, and each area was equipped with a display device for transmission. According to Kotori's introduction, even now it only takes a moment to go from the upper part of the bridge to the lower living area.

Of course, this is not the most significant change.

[Long time no see, how have you been lately? Shidao.]

"Juya?!"

Shidou couldn't help but shout in surprise when he saw the white-haired girl in a nun's uniform appearing on the screen in the corridor.

"Oh oh - isn't this Maria?"

"Ms. Ju Ya, long time no see!"

"Hahaha - long time no see, electronic elf, how are you?"

"Greetings. Long time no see, Maria."

Seeing Maria's appearance, Tohka, Yoshino, Miku, and the Yamai sisters were all surprised and came to the screen to greet her.

【Everyone, long time no see. I am very happy to see you again. 】

With a happy smile on her face, Maria lifted her skirt and bowed slightly to Tohka and the others.

"Um... I'm sorry to ask this question at this tactless time, but is this person... someone you know?"

Nanashi raised his hand hesitantly to ask a question.

[Nice to meet you, Miss Nanashi. I am the artificial AI of this Fraxinus EX - Orumiya. I hope you can give me your guidance in the future.]

"Ha...please advise me."

After nodding for the time being, Qi Zui looked at Ju Ya on the screen, who looked just like a real person, and asked with a strange expression on his face.

"AI?"

【Hi~ I am from AI. 】

Ju Ya responded with a smile as bright and moving as the sun.

"Oh, this is artificial intelligence. This is the first time I've seen it in real life. Its reactions are so realistic that they are basically indistinguishable from those of humans."

Seeing Ju Ya communicating with everyone so easily and fluently, Erya couldn't help but express admiration.

I don’t know if it was as a reference to the comic plot or out of pure curiosity, but Erya took a few steps forward, wanting to get closer to observe Ju Ya.

And then – tragedy struck.

“Uh—wait—————————————————————”

Suddenly, a huge airflow blew out from the vents below the screen. The powerful air pressure hit Erya's face without mercy and pushed her to the wall on the other side.

"Niya? Are you okay?"

“Haha… Not bad.”

When the airflow from the vent stopped, Erya finally separated from the wall and landed on the ground with her feet. Although she didn't have any scars, her originally messy short gray hair was blown back by the wind, making her look inexplicably non-mainstream.

Picking up the glasses on the ground and putting them back on, Erya looked at Ju Ya on the screen with a face full of shame.

"Um... Miss Maria, did I do something to make you angry just now?"

【Yes. 】

With a bright smile still on his face, Ju Ya nodded in affirmation without hesitation.

[Unless it is absolutely necessary, I do not want to have any communication or contact with Miss Erya. This was just a warning. If it happens again, I may report you to the police for sexual harassment.]

10 Woodman and Karen

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[Unless it is absolutely necessary, I do not want to have any communication or contact with Miss Erya. This was just a warning. If it happens again, I may report you to the police for sexual harassment.]

Looking at the screen where Ormori Maria was making threats with a friendly smile that were totally unfunny, Niya's mouth twitched slightly and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Young man... is this child of this character?"

"This, shouldn't it be?"

Shidou scratched his head in confusion. In his impression, although Maria was a bit mean sometimes, she was generally very kind and gentle to everyone. This was the first time he saw her showing such obvious hostility towards someone she just met.

"Juya, have you met Erya before?"

[No, this is the first time that I meet Ms. Niya.]

Ju Ya closed his eyes and answered in a polite tone.

Although Shidao felt that there was something behind Maria's answer, he felt that the other party did not want to elaborate on it, so he did not ask further.

"Speaking of which, where's Juna? She's here too, right?"

Shidou asked Maria, half to change the subject, and half to give her some advice on the prank she made next to the options when conquering Rokuko.

[This…my sister…is here…]

After hearing what Shidou said, Maria felt somewhat troubled, and looked to the side of herself —— a place not shown on the screen, with an expression that seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

【--snort!】