Chapter 26: Sealing Must Be a Very Wholesome Thing, Right?!
Eating should be a joyful thing, and sharing a meal with someone you like makes it even more heartwarming.
Kyoumi didn’t mind that Kotori Itsuka had some reservations and didn’t order more, but that didn’t stop her from noticing that the girl also wanted to eat something together, rather than just sitting there staring blankly at the growing stack of plates.
Of course, whether Kotori accepted this dessert or not, Kyoumi planned to share this sundae anyway—it could be with Tohka, or with Shidou Itsuka.
After all, by common sense, eating ice cream in this weather was too cold, and a large cup would definitely give you a headache.
The girl had some doubts about the common sense she possessed; if it was only superficially usable but deviated for her, that would be troublesome.
And in fact, when challenging her known common sense by sending the sweet, cold cream into her mouth, Kyoumi confirmed that if she ate the whole cup by herself, it absolutely wouldn’t feel good, even if she was a spirit.
This confirmed that this common sense belonged to her, summed up from her past life, not some superficial cognition bestowed by someone.
Clearly afraid of the cold yet challenging a large cup was unwise, but since the girl had no intention of finishing it herself, there was no psychological burden.
Empty the fruits, lick the cream clean, scoop some crushed chocolate, and leave the rest to others.
If she boldly wanted to become family with spirits, Kyoumi had no intention of being polite.
But somewhat unexpectedly, Kotori Itsuka, who said she’d only eat a little, ended up eating half the cup with Kyoumi, and only then passed the rest to Tohka to taste.
The image still lingered in her mind of the girl with night-colored long hair taking a big bite of the sundae, then shivering all over yet woo-woo unwilling to spit out the coldness; Kyoumi toyed with the blue cartoon flag that Shidou Itsuka had handed her—his own.
Looking closely, it was completely a chibi version of the boy with a helpless expression; in summary, Ratatoskr’s efficiency and attentiveness were truly impressive.
Combat power aside, just in terms of service attitude, it wasn’t impeccable, but it definitely made people comfortable.
Shidou Itsuka rubbed his stomach with his hand; he seemed a bit full.
Although Kotori and Kyoumi hadn’t eaten to the point of bloating, Tohka nearby was still digging through the piled-up plates of desserts.
So for the moment, there was no rush to spend the commercial street raffle ticket that Shidou Itsuka had ‘luckily’ received when ordering; sitting together to digest and chat wasn’t bad either.
“By the way, Shidou-kun?”
So, since she had preliminarily confirmed that her common sense was fine, and there was some time now, Kyoumi spoke first, drawing his attention from Tohka.
“What’s the story with that outfit on Tohka?”
Yes, she had been curious earlier, but due to needing to discuss serious matters and suspecting her common sense might be off, she hadn’t asked; Kyoumi threw out the question.
“Why is it a middle school uniform?”
Thinking that the Divine Raiment was too eye-catching and having the spirit adapt to normal clothing in advance for a normal life—this point the girl had no objection to, if it didn’t look like a middle school uniform.
Although the size fit well and the lines were form-fitting, perfectly showcasing the girl’s proud contours, no matter how you looked at it, Tohka’s apparent age should be around sixteen or seventeen, the same as Shidou Itsuka.
Plus, when they parted earlier, only Shidou and Tohka were together; if changing clothes, what exactly happened in between was also concerning.
“Did you prepare it for Tohka?”
Although whether the boy had the interest to deceive an ignorant girl and take advantage didn’t affect Kyoumi’s view of him, for an event involving a fellow spirit, she was a bit curious.
Middle school, huh… My apparent age is a bit older than Kotori but not enough for high school… but I have little interest in school; even integrating into human life… I probably don’t plan to attend school.
“Ah… eh? No, no, it’s not! This is Tohka changing into clothes with her Divine Raiment herself! I didn’t prepare it! Kyoumi should be able to do it too, right!”
Fearing being seen as a pervert who likes dressing ignorant girls in specific uniforms, Shidou Itsuka waved his hands in panic.
At this, Kotori Itsuka and Kyoumi exchanged a glance.
“My Divine Raiment doesn’t have this transformation function; what about yours, Kotori?”
“Is that so? Mine doesn’t either.”
Although they could ask Reine to confirm why Tohka changed clothes, Kotori Itsuka preferred to hear Shidou’s explanation.
“It’s probably that flatworm Kannazuki Kyouhei’s doing, right? Shidou shouldn’t have the guts for that.”
Verbally defending her brother, but Shidou Itsuka felt his sister’s gaze darken.
“Hmm… maybe spirits differ from each other; my hem is detachable, as for the inside…”
The girl leaned slightly forward, her fingertip landing on the zipper structure at the collar of her Divine Raiment; from Shidou’s angle, he could glimpse that fair collarbone.
“Want to see?”
The girl’s figure wasn’t voluptuous; her flat chest was only slightly better than Kotori Itsuka’s, yet she had eye-catching wonderful curves.
Even if her expression seemed like a joke, it faintly emitted a strange allure to the surroundings.
The lazy voice, before it could stir the boy’s imagination, was interrupted by the girl’s sudden alert warning:
“What are you trying to do to someone else’s brother!”
Grabbing the girl’s hand, she forcefully pulled the zipper up to the collar, covering even the neck before stopping.
“And you! Shidou! Snap out of it, you pig who dresses people in middle school uniforms!”
Blocking Kyoumi’s action and not forgetting to scold Shidou Itsuka, shaking her twin tails with a fierce expression, Kotori Itsuka looked quite suited to wearing cat ear headgear.
“Hey! Didn’t you just say it was Kannazuki-san! And that middle school uniform really is Tohka changing with her Divine Raiment!”
“Since she changed into a middle school uniform, that must mean you have those kinds of thoughts! You trilobite!”
“How did the species downgrade even further!!!”
“Yes, yes, Kotori is really strict; my Divine Raiment at least has inner layers.”
To be precise, the seemingly thin Divine Raiment actually had three layers and was quite warm.
Her gaze swept over Tohka, immersed in the food and unable to explain for Shidou; Kyoumi, with her collar grabbed by the girl, shrugged.
“Moreover, rather than what I might do to Shidou, I’d rather ask what Shidou will do to us.”
“Huh?”
The boy timely showed a bewildered expression of being caught in the crossfire, which further confirmed Kyoumi’s judgment.
“Sealing, sealing; since sealing spirit power requires building a certain favorability toward Shidou, then surely the sealing steps also need some intimate contact, right? Like using a marker to draw a sealing array on the abdomen and label an expiration date or something?”
“No matter what, it wouldn’t go that far!!!”
As the first actual beneficiary of sealing, Kotori Itsuka loudly refuted Kyoumi’s wild imagination.
Yet at the same time, she felt two gazes staring straight at her.
“Speaking of which, Kotori has never clearly explained how to seal a spirit’s power; I have absolutely no memory of that part either…”
Shidou Itsuka looked seriously at his sister.
“As expected, Kotori is the one in the know; since you refuted so loudly, you must know exactly how the sealing ritual is completed, right? After all, you’re the spirit that Shidou-kun sealed long ago~”
Kyoumi, having achieved her goal, showed a malicious smile of now you can’t escape.
“Sealing?”
Tohka also lifted her head from the plates.
To say the method of sealing?
At this time?
In front of three people???
“…” Kotori Itsuka’s body suddenly stiffened.