This is not the date I wanted.

"Hmph... Although I am grateful that you came all the way to provide important information. But can you tell me what your purpose is?"

Kotori crossed her arms and asked "Kyouzo".

"Haha. Ms. Kotori is really suspicious. But don't worry, I have no intention of lying. The reason why I came here to inform you is very simple."

With a somewhat wry smile, "Kyousan" replied.

"I had a date with Mr. Shidou yesterday, and I've also thought a lot about it. Since Mr. Shidou already knows about the reincarnation, it would be better to tell you the information instead of hiding the truth for some boring face issues. Mr. Shidou's survival rate may be higher."

"Okay... since you said so, I'll just believe you for now."

"Thank you for your understanding. I am very grateful."

Lifting her skirt again and bowing, "Kyousan" slowly sank into the shadows.

"Kuang San!"

At this moment, Shidou suddenly called out to the other party.

"Hmm? Any instructions, Mr. Shidou?"

Stopping her downward momentum, "Kyousan" turned back to look at Shidao. As her lower body had sunk into the shadow, she looked like a girl bathing by the lake... although the black lake water was a little creepy.

Looking directly into the bloodshot eyes of "Kyouzo", Shidou said with all his might.

"Thank you for telling me about the reincarnation. Please also pass a message to Kurumi for me - thank you, thanks to you, I am still alive today. I am very sorry that I didn't thank you properly before. Thank you for your protection. But -"

Shidou's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he declared in a decisive tone.

"The match between you and me has not yet been decided. After solving the problem of DEM, I will definitely challenge you again, save you, make you intoxicated by me, and admit defeat sincerely. Entrust your spiritual power to me. So——"

Taking a deep breath, Shidou showed a handsome smile that showed he was feeling good about himself and shouted.

"Be prepared! Next time we meet, I will definitely take your lips away, My Honey!"

After hearing what Shidao said, "Kyouzo" was stunned for a while, then revealed a very strange smile.

"Fufufu... Yeah, I understand. Mr. Shidou's feelings... I will definitely convey them to 'me' without reservation. I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Shidou~"

After saying this with joy from the bottom of her heart, "Kyousan" disappeared into the shadows.

"..."

After the room fell into a brief silence, Mengyue stared at Shidao who was smoking above his head and complained speechlessly.

"Shidou... I'm ashamed that you could shout out such embarrassing words. In front of your own sister."

"Pu——Hahahaha! No! I'm dying of laughter! My Honey! My honey! This line doesn't suit you at all, Shidou. And the facial expression you made at that time——Puhahaha! No... My stomach hurts... Do you want me to die of laughter when I inherit my airship..."

"Stop talking... I want to find a hole... to bury myself..."

Note: The Great South Kanto Air Disaster comes from the first volume of the original work. It was a space earthquake that occurred in Japan six months after the Great Eurasian Air Disaster, ranging from the southern part of Tokyo to the northern part of Kanagawa Prefecture.

PS: I originally wanted to write a scene here where Shidou told Kotori his purpose, and then Kotori told Reine and was silenced, but after thinking it over I decided to delete it.

08 Operational Meeting

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

——I have already informed Mr. Shidou and the others of the information, so they should be prepared.

"That's it."

After hearing the report from her clone, Kuang San breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad nothing happened. Thank you for your hard work, 'me'."

——Haha, it’s okay, it’s just a piece of cake.

Eye-patch Kuang San chuckled and shook her head, preparing to return to Kuang San's shadow, but on the way, she seemed to suddenly think of something, stopped and said to Kuang San.

——Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Shidao asked me to bring a message.

"Message?"

Not only did Kuang San show a puzzled expression, but she also coughed twice in a pretentious manner, and spoke with a bass voice full of magnetism and emotion.

——Ah, Kuang San. I love you so much! I love you, I love you, I love you——Marry me! My honey!

"Varied--"

Kuang San was speechless for a moment, and her cheeks felt an unprecedented heat. But when she saw the playful smile of the clone, she immediately reacted and shouted angrily.

"You're lying to me, aren't you! How could Mr. Shidou say something like that!"

——Well, it’s fake.

Eyepatch-wearing Kurumi nodded and changed her tone.

——Shidao-san said, "Next time we meet, I will definitely take your lips, My Honey!"

"Humph...it's a lie anyway, right? I won't fall for it again."

——No, this is true.

"..."

It was as if someone had unexpectedly hit her in the abdomen with a heavy punch, and Kuang San crouched on the ground speechlessly.

——Ala, I am so cute.

Looking at the real body's ears that were as red as tomatoes, eye-patch Kuang San couldn't help laughing.

"Stop talking! When you're done, go back to your shadows!"

——Hi, hi. I'll take my leave now~

"Really? I haven't been indulging myself too much lately, have I?"

Looking at the clones that had returned to the shadows, Kuang San complained unhappily. Just because she was a little gentle to the "clones", they dared to get carried away and tease the real ones.

"Huh... never mind."

Kuang San sighed and decided to give up on arguing with her clone. After all, it was a special period now, and Kuang San would not do anything stupid to reduce her own combat power. If she argued with her clone, she would only feel empty in the end and waste calories.

After adjusting her mood, Kuang San walked to the edge of the rooftop, letting the strong wind blow across her face while gazing at the scenery of the city.

“…It’s incredible.”

It was a scene she had seen countless times, but it stirred up completely different emotions in Kuang San's heart.

Vast and colorful, beautiful and moving. It exists as if it is a matter of course, ordinary, yet fragile and precious.

This is probably understandable. People in famine would think even a bowl of rice is a delicacy. After seeing the world destroyed hundreds of times, even the scenery that others take for granted is as moving as a miracle to Kuang San.

"February 2th...has it been two days already?"

Looking at the date displayed on the billboard on the building opposite, Kuang San whispered to herself.

Two full days have passed since Gokawa Shido's last death. Although DEM also attempted to assassinate Shido during this period, they all ended safely, and Kurumi did not use the "Six Bullets" to perform reincarnation.

"But... we can't let our guard down..."

Kurumi warned herself in a deep voice. Although he survived two days, it didn't mean that Shidao had escaped the fate of death. On February 2, DEM will mobilize all its forces to launch a general attack. Unlike the assassinations so far, the opponent intends to crush everything with absolute violence. If a breakthrough cannot be found, everything will not be over.

——However, there is a slight sign of hope.

The clone's voice came from the shadow.

"However, I didn't expect that the reason for the change in flow direction was just a slight change in mentality."

Kurumi said with a wry smile.

——Yeah. You can't have your cake and eat it, that's what it means.

——Well, whether it’s to understand this matter correctly or to let it go, it will take a lot of time.

——That is why you are standing here now.

——We have experienced reincarnation more than a hundred times. What's wrong with entering reincarnation again to save Shidao and Miss Mengyue?

——That’s the only future I don’t want to happen again.

"Yeah. I understand."

Nodding solemnly, Kurumi answered with a voice full of determination.

————————————I am the dividing line for shifting perspectives————————————————

At 10: a.m., at an altitude of meters in Tiangong City, in the combat meeting room of Fraxinus EX.

Sitting at the round table, Mengyue looked around. Not only Kotori and her crew were sitting there, but also elves such as Shidou and Tohka, the artificial intelligence sisters Ormori, and even Woodman who was at the Ratatoskr headquarters was participating in the meeting via remote video.

It can be said that almost all the acquaintances Meng Yue knew attended this meeting.

“Thank you all for gathering here.”

At this time, Kotori stood up from her seat and spoke to the people present.

"This morning. Kurumi left us information that DEM is expected to launch a large-scale attack with the goal of killing Shidao to stimulate the elves to reverse."

There was a bombshell at the beginning, which instantly made the originally somewhat casual atmosphere tense.

After making sure everyone had digested the news, Kotori continued.

"Although we cannot rule out the possibility that Kurumi is lying. But we cannot ignore it as a joke. That is why I asked you to gather here."

Taking a deep breath, Kotori declared loudly.

"Let's start with the conclusion. We must confront DEM head-on."

Hearing this, there was an uproar in the conference room.

(Well, it's a natural result.)

Meng Yue was not surprised at all by Kotori's decision. The other party's goal was to kill Shidao and make all the spirits reverse and seize the spirit crystals. This had already violated Ratatoskr's bottom line, so there was absolutely no room for compromise between the two sides. Escape was of course not an option. As long as the "Divine Eclipse Volume" was still in Westcott's hands, Shidao and the spirits would not be able to escape the enemy's eyes no matter where they hid.

Negotiation and escape are both impossible, so the only option left is to fight.

Then, Kotori explained the reasons and thoughts behind her decision to everyone, and the content was basically the same as what Mengyue thought. This move was not meaningless. Although many people present had guessed that it would turn out like Mengyue, when Kotori, as the leader, clearly stated it, people felt the reality of it as a fact.

"This is not an easy task. Although I am slightly better in the manifestation device, the enemy has more than ten times as many magicians as us. If we add 'Bandersnatch' and 'Nibelcol', it is hard to imagine how big the gap is. If they don't care about the damage to the surroundings or the social scandal, and just attack with one heart, I'm afraid our chances of winning will be very low. However, we have to fight. The decision to attack may be very sudden, but so far, the enemy has carried out more than a hundred assassination attempts on us. In fact, it has been successful."

"..."

When Kotori said this, Tohka and the other spirits' expressions changed a little. Although they had heard it once yesterday, the fact that Shidou had died still made them feel very guilty and angry.

"If it weren't for Kurumi's ability, we would have already reached the Bad End. And the enemy is also making the next move to defeat Kurumi. Next time, Kurumi may not be able to correct the world again. Therefore, we must now turn defense into offense. Grasp tomorrow with our own hands."

After Kotori's speech, there was a warm response in the meeting room. Should we say that Kotori is worthy of being the commander, and knows how to inspire everyone's fighting spirit.

(But it’s my job to pour cold water on everyone.)

Secretly apologizing to Kotori in her heart, Mengyue raised her hand.

"Is there any problem? Sister Mengyue."

"Well, there is one thing I want to confirm beforehand. We have no problem engaging DEM head-on, but to what extent? The victory conditions for the other side are very clear. All they need to do is kill Shidou, and they don't mind any sacrifices. But what are the victory conditions for our side? It's impossible for us to completely destroy the other side."

[Let me answer this question, Miss Mengyue.]

At this time, Woodman, who had been listening silently on the screen, spoke.

[DEM is an organization that is completely dominated by Isaac's leadership and Alan's practical ability. On the other hand, as long as the two are eliminated, no matter how many magicians and automatons are left, it will not be a problem. His organization is too large and loose, and it is no longer as solid as a rock. As long as these two are gone, the remaining opposition forces within the company will clean up the mess on their own. ]

"I see. It's a very simple victory condition indeed. Then—"

Meng Yue nodded in understanding, then turned her gaze to everyone in the conference room.

"Who can kill those two? Let's not consider whether it can be done, but whether they can do it?"

"I'm OK."

"Same below."

Origami and Mana responded immediately.

"Well...if it's to protect Shidou..."

"Cry--Kuku! Yes, for a concubine like me who bears the sin of killing gods... it's a piece of cake."

"You're complaining. Your voice is shaking, Yakushiya. Don't be so stubborn."

"I'm not shaking!"

"OK, then let's leave this mission to Origami, Mana, Tohka, and Yakuya. I really want to say this, but it's a pity. Once the battle begins, there are too many variables. Anyone could run into Westcott and Alan. What if they run into Nanashi, Yoshino, and Rokuko instead of Origami and Mana?"