"Whoa, what's with those moves? That's super high-spec!"

Hey there, it's me, Chitose, who somehow managed to heal my heart after all that.

The shock of Yoshino leaving without saying anything was pretty huge, but thanks to Uncle, I was able to pull myself together.

The day after I met Yoshino, I trudged with heavy steps to Uncle's bathhouse. Even though I was too shocked to think straight, I still made it to the bathhouse—at this point, you could say it's become a habit.

And as soon as I stepped inside the bathhouse, I ran into Uncle. He seemed to realize I was down just from one look and asked, "Is something wrong?" Since I had no idea how to bring up Yoshino, I was really grateful.

We decided I'd take a bath first, so I quickly went ahead and washed up. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to soak leisurely anyway.

After finishing my bath early, I told Uncle about Yoshino while drinking coffee milk.

While I was talking, Uncle listened with his usual calm expression without interrupting once. Thanks to that normal treatment, I felt my heart gradually calming down as I continued.

After hearing most of my story, Uncle said, "Come to my bath until your heart settles down. Until then, it's on the house," and patted my head. It was super embarrassing!

I mean, it was during business hours—of course there were customers around when I looked... and they were all watching our interaction as if it were perfectly natural.

Why is everyone staring? This isn't a show, damn it! If this is some kind of humiliation play, cut it out. ...Well, I guess I started it, though.

Anyway, I didn't mind having my head patted.

Since he said I could use the bath for free, I decided to soak to my heart's content every day. As a bath lover, it brought tears to my eyes... my wounded heart was healing...

Thanks to that, I was able to pull myself together. I can't thank Uncle enough.

And so, on this day when I finally recovered—April 10th...

Right now, in my line of sight—that crater phenomenon is happening again.

Ah, it's not my fault, okay? It's caused by someone else!? It's because of that girl who's currently going on a rampage in my view, so it's really not me!!?

It all started when I was napping on a park bench.

I was relaxing in the park on the hill as usual... when suddenly a siren started blaring. As if to disturb my nap.—So I'm not wrong for throwing the bench at the nearby alarm. Both got wrecked, but the noise stopped, so it's fine, right?

My wake-up was the worst, but since I was already awake, I had no choice but to get up. Besides, there was something bothering me.

The siren that disturbed my nap... it was the same sound as the siren from the alarm I kicked when I first reincarnated into this world.

Though this time, there was also a mechanical voice saying something like "Spatial Quake alert—" added to it.

That's when I heard a term that caught my attention.

Umm... Spatial Quake? Is that the name of that crater phenomenon? I don't know much about it yet since my knowledge is still limited.

But... as if to deal with it, the city is transforming.

As soon as the alarm sounds, train stations, parking lots, subway entrances, and such start retracting underground one after another.

The residents are also fleeing into the underground passages, so maybe last time they had already finished evacuating? Anyway, one word—

—So damn cool...—

I mean, it's cool! Transformation is a man's romance!? I don't think anyone wouldn't get hyped by this!

...Different strokes for different folks? I know.

I'm watching this situation from the hill, sitting on the handrail with binoculars. ...Oh, by the way, these binoculars are high-performance and cost tens of thousands of yen.

Of course, I went to the store and stole... borrowed them. Well, there weren't any ads anyway.

I just looked at the ones on display from afar and materialized them here. The store staff panicked when the item suddenly disappeared... but one item shouldn't matter, right? Kukuku...

And after the alarm kept blaring for a while, it happened.

Like, the sky twisted, went *squish*, and fell. Something like that.

I mean, that's the only way to describe what I saw. And then a huge explosion when it hit the ground.

...Did I emerge from that? Being born from a *squish* feels kinda complicated... Wait, can you even call that being born? "I just found myself standing there" fits way better, so I don't feel like I was born at all.

...Well, whatever. Let's see how much damage was done.

Seeing the full scale of the Spatial Quake left me with an indescribable feeling as I turned my binoculars back toward the epicenter.

And I saw it.—Someone standing at the very center of the blast site.

There—was a beautiful girl wearing what looked like a mix of a gorgeous dress and armor, standing with her foot propped on the armrest of something throne-like...

Th-that's so cool... It's awesome, isn't it?

The Yamato Nadeshiko-esque girl stood there with a completely unashamed, dignified posture. Nice... I wish I could've made an entrance like that.

My entrance was just me standing there like a stick! And the alarm disturbed me... How can she strike such a cool pose? I'm jealous, damn it.

I got kinda pissed, so I threw my binoculars at the other nearby alarm. That shouldn't be wrong. With the momentum, both were destroyed, but no problem. It's quieter now.

—Ah! My tens-of-thousands-of-yen binoculars!? (I don't care about the alarm.)

Good thing I took a picture of the binoculars with a digital camera beforehand. I summoned another one, good as new, to replace the destroyed one.

When I looked through the binoculars at the epicenter again... Huh? There's a boy standing near the crater.

A student? That uniform is definitely... Raizen High's. I recognized it right away since it's the same uniform as the kid I met at the bathhouse.

"—Wait, seriously... is that kid for real?"

I was a little surprised by what happened in my line of sight.

I mean, she pulled a giant sword from the throne and tried to slash a normal-looking male student, so of course I'd be surprised.

Speaking of which, what's up with that throne? Is it a sheath? A chair and a sheath? Looks hard to carry around.

Well, aside from the sheath(?), that sword itself is cool. Like... it looks like some legendary weapon that could shoot an aurora beam if you called its name and swung it down. I kinda want it... nah, not now.

But really, what's up with that girl? Is it like "I'll slice everything in sight!"? That's way too dangerous.

And with one swing of her sword, she made a building collapse. What kind of destructive power is that? I kinda wanted to have power like that too, to mow down crowds and play the one-man army game.

But unfortunately, I have zero combat skills. I lived a peaceful life in my previous world and never even got into a fight. So what's with this Astral Dress design anyway?

Even though my physical abilities improved, I'm still an amateur using power, so anyone with real martial arts training would see nothing but openings. If they targeted that, even with my Spirit specs, I probably couldn't handle it. Not that I want to fight in the first place.

Besides, even if I said I want to go on a rampage, that's only in games. Things don't work that smoothly in reality.

...Huh? You're saying the fact that I can get anything already makes it unrealistic? I know.

Whoa, things are moving along.

Looks like that group, abbreviated as ASD, has arrived on the scene. They all started shooting at the girl with their gun-like weapons.

But the girl completely protected herself from all the bullets with some mysterious barrier. What a waste of bullets.

Useless! Powerless! Meaningless! That's exactly what the ASD's attacks were like.

It's clearly not working at all. The girl being shot is just standing there with a calm expression, probably thanks to the barrier—does she think this is some easy game or something?

...Wait, when I looked closely at that barrier... isn't that a defensive wall from her Astral Dress?

Somehow, it feels similar to the spiritual power membrane my Astral Dress is providing... or rather, they seem to be the same category. The spiritual power membrane is basically a barrier too, so I think it serves the same purpose as the barrier the girl in front of me has deployed. The difference is whether it's for combat or stealth.

I never thought about fighting willingly, so I didn't realize it, but my Astral Dress can be used like that too... So it wasn't just for fashion ←

…………………………

Huh? If she's wearing an Astral Dress, does that mean she's a Spirit like me? Hmm...

—There are other Spirits!? (You're only realizing this now?)

Well, I kinda had a feeling, but? I didn't actually think there were other girls like me.

Since I became a Spirit thanks to God, I thought there wouldn't be any others, so it can't be helped.

I see, so she's a Spirit... Hmm, I feel a sense of kinship. Since we're the same kind, maybe we can get along?

...Judging by her attitude, it seems unlikely unless she's willing to listen.

Watching her from here, I noticed something.

That is—she has a tragic expression, as if she's given up on everything in this world.

A sad expression that clearly conveys the feeling that no matter how much she struggles, nothing will change.

A face devoid of hope, without expectation, her heart so parched she believes there's no point in believing in miracles... that kind of expression.

That expression of hers—

"...I don't like it."

—Made me inexplicably angry.

Well, even so, it doesn't seem like a problem I can do anything about right now. Unless I know what kind of darkness she's carrying, there's nothing I can do.

But... why do I feel like things will work out anyway? ...Could it be that the boy from earlier will become her good understanding or something?

Hahaha, as if such a convenient story would happen. This isn't a galge, things don't work out that nicely—

—Back then, I laughed off the premonition I had as ridiculous, but who would've thought it would actually come true... I wish I could tell my past self—

"You, who are you?"

"No, I'm the one who wants to ask..."

A few days have passed since then.

Today, there was a Spatial Quake at Raizen High. I saw it with my own eyes, but I also remember a familiar student who came to the bathhouse complaining about it like it was a nuisance.

The Spatial Quake seemed to hit the school building directly, but apparently there were no casualties. A blessing in disguise, I guess?

But that kid said they forgot something in the classroom, and it was something fairly important to them. It got blown away by the Spatial Quake, though.

They kept grumbling, "Spatial Quakes are so damn annoying—," so I asked them what it was. ...I'll refrain from saying what it was.

Yikes, remembering it gives me the chills...

Anyway, I told the kid to come back another day, and I immediately started searching through ads to materialize something similar to what they lost. Regardless of the item itself, it seemed important to them, so even if it's not a perfect replacement, having something similar prepared should be fine. They're a regular, so giving them special treatment shouldn't be a crime, right?

After finishing my work at the counter, I returned to the park.

On the way, I wondered if maybe the girl from that day appeared again due to today's Spatial Quake, but that's in the past now. No point dwelling on it.

And so I returned from the bathhouse to the park... and right after arriving at the park, I met her.

—Yes, her, the one who was playing that rampage game with the great sword back then.

And that brings us to the present.—In a situation where she's pointing her sword at me.

"I'll ask again. Who are you?"

"Who am I?"

"..."

"Ah, wait. I didn't think my joke would fall that flat.—So please don't swing that raised sword down at me, I'm really sorry AAAH!? Have mercy! Meeeercy!!"

I tried joking in response to her question, but she didn't seem to appreciate it and started to swing her sword down.

That's too intense for someone with zero combat power like me. I'm breaking out in a cold sweat... and I just took a bath too.

Anyway, I decided to introduce myself to her without any provocation.

"My name is Chitose, Your Highness."

"I am not a princess."

"Sorry."

She pointed her sword at me again.

Dammit... Why does everything I say backfire...?

And this exchange is getting annoying, man. I'm sleepy, if you have something to say, hurry up and finish...

Ah, this is such a pain. At this rate, I'll just say the bare minimum and get through this. Like using the technique I use when my boss's nagging gets annoying!

—Let me explain! is when you only respond with "Yes" to whatever the other person says!

If I have no right to refuse anyway, I might as well just say "Yes," right? If saying unnecessary things just drags it out, it's better to just say "Yes" appropriately.—That's the technique!

With such unenthusiastic replies, the other person should lose the will to talk too. They'll think it's stupid to bother saying more, right? I'm using that emotion.

But be careful where you use it. It might backfire and make them nag even more due to your lack of enthusiasm.

Thinking that, I responded to her questions. With just "Yes."

"...Fine. But there won't be a next time."

"Yes."

"...You said Chitose, correct?"

"Yes."

"You... do you intend to kill me?"

"Ye—huh? What?"

—I almost stepped on a landmine right away! doesn't work, damn it!!

Phew, that was close. I almost said "Yes" to the question about killing. Hmm... thinking in galge terms, if I had chosen "Yes" here, I'd be headed straight for a DEAD END route.

I'll seal . This is a forbidden technique...

But still... why did she suddenly ask something dangerous like killing? What? Does she have a death wish or something? It's your business what you do, but don't drag others into it.

Thinking that, I looked at the girl again—and saw something in my vision.

"..."

This girl…………

Tch... Damn it, now I have a reason I can't sleep, of all things... seriously...

My thoughts cooled down instantly the moment I saw that something after taking in the girl's appearance.

And while looking at the girl with cold eyes, I responded to her question.

"Why would I need to kill people? I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys troublesome stuff like that."

"..."

"No doubt about it."

"Do you think I can believe that?"

"If you don't have the intention to believe, then you probably can't."

When I answered curtly to her, who was full of suspicion, she made a slightly annoyed face, as if irritated. But it also felt like a change born from having her feelings shaken.

Ignoring the girl's mood, I asked her what she wanted. ...With a bit of irritation.

"So? What do you want anyway? If you have something to say, say it quickly. If not, go away."

"Wh—, you—"

"Let me tell you, just swinging your sword around won't move the conversation forward. You want to talk, right? If not, you would've cut me down with that sword before even speaking."

"Ugh..."

Hit the mark, the girl who was about to swing her sword fell silent, her actions read again. I might have been too harsh, but... for her right now, this is just right.

Rather than pitifully gauging the other person's mood while talking, with someone who shows this kind of "expression," it's better to always confront them with confident words—that way, you won't let the other person say whatever they want.

The girl flinched a little at my suddenly intimidating aura, a complete change from before.

She remained silent for a while, but she probably wanted to finish her business quickly too. She seemed to steel herself and opened her heavy mouth.

"You... do you know what it is that makes something worthy of trust?"

The girl looked down. Because of that, her bangs covered her face, making it hard to read her feelings from her expression. Hiding your face with bangs, we match—

...But that doesn't matter right now.

Seriously... what kind of question is this?

Something to make you trust people? You want to know what that is...?

"How should I know?"

"—! You! Answer seriously!"

I answered her question dismissively. She seemed really displeased with my response, showing anger on her face and yelling.

Answer seriously? Then I'll tell you.

Undeterred by her pressure, I started explaining my thoughts.

"Then I'll tell you? ...First of all, 'trusting' is something that, unless you change yourself, you won't be able to mutually trust each other unless something rare happens. Do you want others to trust you? Or do you want to trust someone? I don't know why you're asking this, but... for now, I can say one thing."

The girl looked skeptical at what I started saying.

She seemed to be trying to understand the meaning... but does she get it? Despite her expression, a ton of question marks are popping up above her head. Maybe this girl... isn't used to thinking much? A muscle brain?

...Well, whatever. I just need to answer.

What I should say has been decided since the moment I saw the expression she's been showing.

I don't know if the words I'm about to say are what she wants to hear. But at the very least, they shouldn't be wrong. Probably.

—Earlier, when she asked if I would kill her, I noticed something from her expression.

That day, the first day I saw her.

Why I didn't like her back then became confirmed when I met her face-to-face like this.

I realized. I realized it clearly...

From that day until now... no matter what she did, she never changed—she had an expression as if she'd decided she was an unfortunate existence.

The cause is probably the ASD. Those who want to kill her are probably only them. ...Well, their attacks are like peashooters and wooden sticks, so she probably wasn't in any real danger.

...Now that she's appeared in my sight again today, I understand—probably, Spatial Quakes are the reason Spirits like her come from somewhere, and after some time passes, they return to that somewhere. Actually, last time she appeared, she disappeared like mist after fighting for a while. I wonder why I don't seem to go back like that.

Now that I think about it... that boy from back then disappeared at some point too, but I hope he's okay? ...Well, whatever.

Back to the topic, if Spirits come through Spatial Quakes... then this girl must have been involved in a lot of trouble.

When a Spatial Quake is observed, the townspeople evacuate to shelters. Meanwhile, the ASD heads to the source and tries to eliminate any Spirins they find... She might have been their target many times.

Probably every time she comes to this world from a different one, the ASD evacuates the townspeople and then attacks her. If those are the only people she's ever met, no wonder she'd be worn down.

No one ever properly talked to her. So it's possible the only humans she knows are the ASD... only those who come to kill her.

That's why she can't trust anymore. People, this world, and... herself.

Like I said earlier, she probably decided she was an unfortunate existence. She had that kind of expression that day.

'Had.'

Yes. It's in the past tense now.

I don't know what happened, but the expression and atmosphere of the girl in front of me now are different from back then—she seems a little more open. Or rather, she seems to be in the process of opening up. Her expression has changed to be somewhat less prickly than before.

Maybe something happened this time that changed her state of mind. Some trigger that changed something fundamental about her.

I don't know what that is. All I can tell... is that she might not have confidence in that change. Otherwise, she wouldn't be asking what it means to trust something.

—That's exactly why I'll tell her.

"Figure that out yourself."

"Wh—"

Chitose was pretty dry.

I mean, what do you expect me to do? I only know what I've seen and felt about her, and today I got woken up from my nap by a siren!? I ended up teleporting all the visible alarms to the Spatial Quake site... about twenty of them. Smashed them all to pieces.

So far, she's only caused me trouble, you know? The Spatial Quake might not be her intention, but right now she's actively cutting into my sleep time.

So, I don't have much to say to her.

—Besides—

"The words of someone you just met... can you believe them?"

"Th-that's..."

If you don't know how you want to believe, what criteria would you use to believe my words? If you're trying to believe my words here, wouldn't it be better to prioritize the trigger that made you want to believe in the first place...?

That's exactly why I have something to tell her.

"I don't know what you were like until now. But I have one guess."

"What...?"

"Probably... something happened today, right? Something that never happened before... something that made you think about trusting people."

"—!?"

My words must have hit the mark, as the girl showed a shocked expression.

My guess was right. My intuition is sharp! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket with this luck?

...Huh? You're saying I don't need money anymore anyway? I know.

Kukukuku... I, the 500-yen coin master, have no need for 10,000-yen bills now!!

—Ahem. Back to the topic.

"Then, for now, just believe in that trigger that seems like it might change you. Asking others about the meaning of trust now would just confuse you, right? Like, whether what you heard is true or not."

"..."

"You don't need to forcibly learn about trust from others. ...Just believe in that one thing that became the trigger to change you first. The rest can come later. ...Right?"

"...Believe only in... Shidou..."

Oh? So Shidou is the trigger that changed this girl? Sounds like a person's name.

...Maybe it's that boy from back then. Just a thought.

"Yeah, yeah. Then you know what to do... right?"

"Huh?"

"Go to that Shidou person and leave me alone. He's the one who might change you, right?"

"...But."

"But?"

"—I'm scared. When I think, what if it's a lie... that humans are still beings who want to kill me... so."

There was no trace of the resolute girl from earlier. All I could see was... a girl her age, trembling with anxiety.

—This girl probably wanted some certainty to believe in that Shidou person...

Anyone would do. She just wanted to meet someone who would affirm that Shidou is a trustworthy person. To believe in Shidou, to be accepted by this world...

—Let me say it. "What a roundabout way of doing things."

Seriously... in the end, it all depends on her feelings, doesn't it?

If she wants to believe in that Shidou kid, instead of asking others, she should meet them directly and judge for herself. My sleep time... ah, whatever, no use regretting it now.

Watching her reaction, I presented her with a choice.

"...Do you want to believe in Shidou?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want to believe in Shidou? Or do you want to doubt him?"

That's all there is to it. It's not about what to believe in; she probably appeared here just to know that one answer.

But that's something no one else can answer. ...Because only she can reach it.

Her question... can only be answered by her own decision. So, what I should do is... just give her a little push, right?

I ask her. How does she want to be...?

Faced with the choice I presented, she hesitated to answer and closed her mouth. ...To find the answer to her own feelings.

—And then

"...I want to believe. I... I want to believe in Shidou!"

That answer must have been the best decision for her.

Hearing her answer finally made my irritation disappear. What a refreshing feeling!

Ahh~ It's over, it's over! Good! Let's finish this quickly and go to sleep!

I'm so sleepy that it's having the opposite effect and I'm wide awake! I'm getting a bit of that late-night energy!

And because of that, I ended up talking in this condescending tone! That's not like me at all, is it!?

Phew... I calmed down a bit after letting out some frustration. Somehow the tension in my shoulders has eased up too.

As I start to relax, I try to wrap up the conversation by speaking up.

"I see. Then I guess I should meet that person tomorrow or something."

"Yeah... Chitose."

"Mmm... Huh?"

Just as I was finally letting my guard down thinking her questions were over, she called my name. ...I ended up making a weird sound. That's embarrassing.

I quickly pulled myself together and turned to face her properly.

"What is it? You don't need me anymore, right?"

"...Well,"

"...?"

I looked at her suspiciously as she seemed to be hesitating. What happened to that resolute attitude she had when we first met?

As I was thinking that... she told me. —Her own name.

"...Toka."

"...Is that your name?"

"Ah, yeah. It's a good name, right?"

"...Yeah. I think it's a nice name."

I had a feeling that was the case, and it seems I was right. She—Toka—said her name proudly... and yet, she spoke happily.

—Her expression at that moment wasn't the stiff one from before, but a pure smile.

Hey, you can make that kind of face too, can't you?

Feeling happy about that, I honestly praised her name.

—Not knowing that a bombshell statement was coming next.

"—See! I knew it! This is the name I received from Cid ( ・・・・・・・・ )! Of course it is!"

"...Huh?"

Received from Cid... a name?

Wait? From the atmosphere, this Cid person isn't like a parent or anything, right? It's more like... a lover or something, isn't it!?

As I froze at Toka's words... the next bombshell statement came.

"Thank you, Chitose! Thanks to you, I've made up my mind! With this, tomorrow's deeto or whatever should go smoothly!"

"—Wha?"

The person who gave her the name... and deeto?

Deeto... deeto... deeto... Date... Date?

—Date?

"Daaate!?"

"Yes! It seems Cid wants to do this deeto thing! It must be something fun!"

"—Huh? D-date... you don't know what it is?"

"Hm? Well... I have no idea what we'll be doing!"

You shouldn't say that so confidently!!?

What!? What's with this girl!? She's incredibly pure and innocent!? Where did that gloomy expression from before go!? And going along with a date invitation without even knowing what it means is way too dangerous!!

That person—wait, it's definitely a guy, right!? What if that guy is a pervert on the level of a beast!? Toka is a beautiful girl who looks exactly like one!? And I'm extremely worried about how ignorant Toka is about various things!?

First of all, her personality changed way too much!? It's like she's a completely different person!!?

"S-so, Toka? What's your relationship with this Cid person?"

"My relationship with Cid? He's the one who gave me my name... the first human who (affirmed me)!"

"The first!?"

Wha, wait, hu, the first... Is that it? That thing? Has Toka already climbed the adult staircase!? Has she already been completely devoured according to his desires, being an ignorant girl!? This Cid person is way too cruel!!

Just what did he do to Toka... Ugh, no no, I shouldn't think about it, I shouldn't think about it...

"...Chitose? Your face is red for some reason?"

"—Wha!? I-I'm fine... no problem...!"

"Why are you straining so much? Your face is getting even redder?"

This is bad, I need to change the direction of my thoughts or things will get really bad. I don't have much tolerance for that kind of talk, so please spare me...

Ever since I reincarnated, I haven't been interested in that kind of talk, but that doesn't mean I have no interest at all, just that I'm not proactive about it. ...Well, I wasn't that proactive even before reincarnation? It's embarrassing.

Even now when I don't feel anything seeing a woman's naked body, I'm still interested in romantic matters. Especially when it comes to other people's love affairs, just hearing about them makes me feel ticklish... but I'm interested to the extent that I'm curious.

I guess that's somewhat reassuring. If I had lost interest in romantic matters altogether, that would feel like... I'd be broken as a human.

—That's exactly why I'd panic if such topics were suddenly brought up. And please don't talk about intimate matters in detail because I'll feel inexplicably embarrassed?

And Miss Toka? You're not doing this on purpose, are you? That timing made me think you might be aiming for it, you know.

...Looking at this innocent face, she's probably unaware.

—Huh? What exactly was I thinking? Th-that's... no comment.

After that, while I was lost in thought, overthinking Toka's words about this and that, Toka's figure disappeared from in front of me. It seems she went home while I was thinking. (I feel déjà vu)

Just because I'm not good with these kinds of conversations, I really should fix this habit of getting so lost in thought that I don't notice changes around me... To be honest, I'm full of openings, so if some weirdo attacked me during that time, it would be troublesome.

—Wait, it's already morning. I didn't get to sleep at all, damn it.

Therefore, it's possible she only knows humans as ASDs... Only as beings who come to kill her.

That's exactly why she's become unable to trust. People, this world, and... herself.

As I said earlier, she probably decided she was an unfortunate existence. She had that kind of expression that day.

'Had'

Right. It's already in the past tense.

I don't know what happened, but the expression and atmosphere of the girl before me now is different from back then, slightly more open.—No, it feels like she's starting to open up. Her expression has changed to one where her thorns have softened a bit, even if only a little.

I think maybe something changed in her heart when she appeared this time. Some trigger that changed something fundamental about her.

I don't know what that is. What I can understand is... that she might not have confidence in that change. If she did, she wouldn't be asking what she should believe in, right?

—That's exactly why I'll say it.

"Figure that out for yourself."

"Wha—"

Chitose-san was pretty dry.

Well, I mean... what do you expect me to do? I only know what I've seen and felt about her, and today I was woken up from a nap by a siren sound, you know? I ended up teleporting all the visible alarm devices to the spatial quake occurrence site... about twenty of them. Smashed them all to pieces.

So far, she's only caused me trouble, you know? The spatial quakes might not be her intention, but right now, in real time, she's cutting into my sleepy sleep time.

So, with all that, I don't have much I can say to her.

—And also—

"Can you... believe the words of someone like me, who you just met?"

"Th-that is..."

If you don't know what you want to believe, by what standard would you say you believe my words? If you're trying to believe my words here, wouldn't it be better to prioritize the trigger that made you want to believe in the first place...?

That's exactly why there's something I want to tell her.

"I don't know what kind of person you've been until now. But there's one thing I've guessed."

"What...?"

"Just a guess, but... something happened today, right? Something that never happened before... something that made you start thinking about believing in people."

"——!?"

Did my words hit the mark? The girl makes a shocked expression.

My guess was right. My intuition is sharp! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket with this luck?

...Huh? You're saying I don't need money at this point anyway? I know.

Kukukuku... I, the Master of 500-yen coins, have no need for 10,000-yen bills now!!

—Ahem. Let's get back on track.

"Well then, first, just believe in that trigger that seems like it might change you. Wouldn't asking people around you about the meaning of trust now just confuse you? Like, whether what you're told is really true or not."

"..."

"You don't need to forcibly learn about believing from others. ...Just first believe in that one thing that became the trigger to change you. The rest can come later. ...Right?"

"...Believe only in... Shidou..."

Oh? Is this 'Shidou' the trigger that changed her? Sounds like a person's name from the feel of it.

...Maybe it's that boy from back then. Just a thought.

"Right, right. Then you know what to do... right?"

"Huh?"

"It means go to that person Shidou without worrying about me. He's the one who might change you, right?"

"...But"

"But?"

"—I'm scared. When I think, what if it's a lie... that humans are still beings who will kill me... so..."

There was no trace of the resolute girl from earlier. There... only the figure of a girl her age, trembling with anxiety, enters my view.

—This girl, she probably wanted some kind of confirmation in order to believe in that person Shidou...

Anyone would have done. She just wanted to meet someone who would affirm that Shidou was a person she could trust. In order to believe in Shidou, and to be accepted by this world...

—Let me say it. "What a roundabout way of doing things."

Seriously... in the end, it all depends on her feelings, doesn't it?

If she wants to believe in that Shidou kid, instead of asking others, she should just meet him directly and judge for herself, right? My sleep time... ah, whatever, it's too late for regrets now.

And while watching her reaction, I tell her one choice.

"...Do you want to believe in Shidou?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want to believe in Shidou? Or do you want to doubt him?"

That's all there is to it. It's not about what to believe in; she probably appeared here because she wanted to know just that answer.

But that's something no one else can answer. ...Because only she can arrive at it.

Her question... can only be answered by her own decision. Then, what I should do... is just give her a push from behind, right?

I ask her. How she wants to be...

She hesitates to reply to the choice I present, closing her mouth. ...To find the answer within her own feelings.

—And then

"...I want to believe. I... I want to believe in Shidou!"

That answer must have been the best decision for her.

With her answer, the irritation inside me finally vanished. What a refreshing feeling!

Whew~ It's over, it's over! Good! Let's finish this conversation quickly and sleep! I'm so sleepy it's making me wide awake! I'm getting into that late-night high tension mode!

Because of that, I ended up talking in this condescending tone! This isn't my character, is it!?

Phee... I calmed down after letting off a little steam. Somehow the tension has left my shoulders too.

As I start to relax like that, I throw out words to wrap up the conversation.

"I see. Then you should meet that person tomorrow or something."

"That's right. ...Chitose."

"Mmm~... Nnah?"

Just as I finally relaxed, thinking her questioning was over, she called my name. ...I let out a weird sound. Oops.

I hurriedly pull back my relaxed mood and turn to face her properly.

"What's up? You don't need me anymore, right?"

"...Um"

"...?"

I look at her, who seems hesitant about something, with a suspicious expression. Really, what happened to the resolute figure from when we first met?

As I think that... she tells me.—Her own name.

"...Tohka."

"...Your name?"

"Ah, yes. It's a good name, isn't it?"

"...Yeah. I think it's a good name."

I kind of sensed it, and it seems I was right. She—Tohka—said her name proudly... and yet, she spoke happily.

—Her expression at that time wasn't the stiff one from before, but a pure smile.

What do you know, you can make that kind of face too.

Feeling happy about that, I honestly praised her name.

—Not knowing the bomb statement that would follow.

"—! Right! Because this is the name I received from Shidou ( ・・・・・・・・ )! Of course it is!"

"...Excuse me?"

Received from Shidou... a name?

Huh? From the atmosphere, Shidou isn't like a parent or something, right? Isn't it more like... a lover or something!?

As I freeze at Tohka's words... the next bomb statement comes.

"Thank you, Chitose! Thanks to you, I've made up my mind! With this, tomorrow's 'date' or whatever should go well without a hitch!"

"—Weh?"

The name-giver and... a date?

Date... deeto... deeto... date... date?

—Date?

"Date!?"

"Yes! It seems Shidou wanted to do a 'date' or something! It must be something fun!"

"—Huh? D-date... you don't know?"

"Hmm? Well... I have no idea what it involves!"

That's not something to say so confidently!!!!?

Huh!? What's with this girl!? She's super pure and innocent!? Where did the dark expression from before disappear to!? And agreeing to a date without even knowing what it means is way too dangerous!!

That kid—no, it's definitely a guy, right!? What if he's a pervert on the level of a beast!? Tohka is a beautiful girl who looks exactly like one!? And the fact that Tohka is so ignorant is extremely worrying!?

First of all, her personality changed too much!? It's like a completely different person!!?

"T-Tohka? What's your relationship with that Shidou person?"

"My relationship with Shidou? He's the one who gave me a name... my first human (who affirmed me)!"

"First!?"

Huh, wait, wha, first... is that it? Is it that thing? Has Tohka already climbed the adult staircase!? Did he already devour the ignorant girl to his heart's content!? This Shidou person is too much of a beast!!

Just what did he do to Tohka... Ugh, no no, mustn't think about it, mustn't think about it...

"...Chitose? Your face is kind of red?"

"—Uweh!? I-I'm fine... no problem...!"

"Why are you straining so much? Your face is getting even redder?"

Crap, I need to change the direction of my thoughts or things will get bad. I don't have much tolerance for that kind of talk, so please spare me...

Since reincarnating, I've lost interest in such topics, but that's only in terms of being proactive; it's not that I have no interest at all. ...Well, I wasn't that proactive even before reincarnation? It's embarrassing.

Even now, when I feel nothing seeing a woman's naked body, I'm still interested in romantic matters. Especially when it comes to other people's love affairs, just hearing about it makes me feel ticklish... but I'm interested to the extent that I'm curious.

I was a bit relieved about that. If I'd lost interest in romantic matters entirely, that would feel like... being broken as a human.

—That's exactly why I'd get flustered if such topics came up suddenly. And more than that, I'd feel inexplicably embarrassed, so please don't talk about intimate details?

And Miss Tohka? You're not doing this on purpose, are you? That timing was so perfect it seemed intentional, you know?

...Judging by this innocent-looking face, she's probably unaware.

—Huh? What did I think about in the first place? Th-that's... no comment.

After that, while I was lost in thought, overthinking Tohka's words and pondering this and that, Tohka's figure disappeared from before me. It seems she went home while I was thinking. (I feel déjà vu)

Just because I'm not good with this kind of talk, I really should fix the habit of getting so lost in thought that I don't notice my surroundings... Frankly, I'm full of openings, so if some weirdo attacks me during that time, it'd be trouble.

—And it's already morning, isn't it? I didn't get to sleep after all, dammit.