Chapter 193 Shidou's dilemma at home

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"--So..." As soon as Shidou returned home, Kotori, who was waiting at home in Black Ribbon Commander mode, raised the Double Jam Fruit Stick in her mouth and said this to him.

"Will you explain what's going on, Shidou?" Kotori said and glared at Shidou fiercely.

Shidou also knew the reason why Kotori did this. It was about Origami.

There are three people in the living room of the Itsuka family now. One is Shidou, one is Kotori, and the other is a woman with a sleepy face and a small terminal in her hand ready - [Ratatoskr] analyst Reine Murasame.

"Rei...Reine is here."

"...Yeah. Just think of it as me coming here to record. If you find it inconvenient, I can leave."

"No, that's not the case..." Shidou said while scratching his cheek.

She looked like she was waiting to hear Shidou's explanation.

"Okay, Shidou, you can start talking." Kotori urged Shidou by jutting her chin.

"Okay... okay..." However, Shidou was overwhelmed by the atmosphere at the scene and stammered, unable to say anything.

In the morning, in order to ask for Ratatoskr's help, Shidou did say that he would explain the details to Kotori after returning home.

However, once faced with this situation, Shidou didn't know how to explain what was happening to him.

Then, perhaps sensing Shidou's thoughts, Kotori snorted with an unhappy look on her face.

"...Humph. You're not telling me you can't tell me until now? Or are you worried whether I can understand what you're saying? You really look down on me. In your eyes, am I such an unreliable commander?"

"No, I don't mean that." Shidou shook his head, and Kotori pouted her lips as if she was upset, and said softly: "Just say it..."

He scratched his head and sighed.

"…That's right. I'm sorry, Kotori." Shidou said as if to be on guard against himself, and then lowered his head slightly to apologize.

——Why is he so worried? Kotori, the petite girl in front of Shidou is obviously a girl who is much smarter and stronger than him.

"You may find it confusing, but what I'm about to say is all true. Are you willing to listen to me?"

When Shidou finished speaking, Kotori's expression brightened instantly. But she immediately twitched her eyebrows, returned to her commander mode, and nodded.

"Yeah, of course I am willing." Seeing Kotori's appearance, Shidou smiled bitterly and began to tell the story. He once knew a girl named Origami. Origami turned into a spirit and then reversed and destroyed the town. In order to prevent this from happening, Shidou used Kurumi's power to turn back time to five years ago. Because he saved Origami's parents, he changed the path that the world was supposed to follow.

However, Origami exists in this world as a spirit called a "Devil".

——It took about fifteen minutes. Shidou told Kotori and Reine what he had experienced.

"Here's the thing -----"

"You... mean, changing history... and a very important person... disappeared?" Kotori frowned and looked at Shidou with some suspicion.

Shidou looked calm and said that he did not lie.

Kotori's brows relaxed slightly. She knew Shidou, and judging from his expression, he was indeed not lying---

"Well... in that case, I can understand why you've been acting strange. Anyway, I'll just believe you for now. I can't think of any reason for you to lie to me like that. Besides--, I've had a feeling... as if something is missing... Is it... Kat... cough---su... Katsu brother?... It's really troublesome. Never mind. After all, you said that Kurumi is already trying to rescue him. Let's just ignore it for now. After all, there's nothing we can do even if we want to. The most important thing right now is the matter of Tobiichi Origami." 

Then, Kotori sighed and winked at Reine.

So Reine nodded slightly: "...Yeah." She operated the terminal at hand and turned the screen towards Shidou and Kotori.

"Hmm...?" Shidou leaned over to look at the screen and held his breath.

The figure displayed above is Origami standing on the top floor of the high school, and Shidou and Kurumi can also be seen on the edge of the screen. It is exactly the scene that Shidou just experienced.

"This is—"

"That's right. This is the image captured by the automatic sensor camera this evening... In order to search for information about Tobiichi Origami, I sent out several cameras, but I didn't expect to see this decisive moment." Kotori showed an embarrassment and made a low "hmm" sound.

"It's an indisputable fact that Tobiichi Origami is a [Devil]. However, she herself is not aware of it... In fact, I asked Reine to analyze her parameters, and she doesn't seem to be lying."

"Well, as expected..."

"Yes. Tobiichi Origami may not have realized that she has turned into a spirit." Shidou took a breath when he heard what Kotori said.

"Is it possible... for this to happen?"

"Although this has never happened before... since there is an actual example, we can't deny this possibility. But I don't know how things turned out to be like this." After Kotori finished speaking, Reine, who was operating the terminal, stroked her chin and sighed softly.

"...Can I express my opinion for a moment?"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Reine?"

"...Hmm. This is just a hypothesis I came up with, after all. It can be considered an inference. I have a question after listening to what Shidou said."

"...Shidou...uh, and the disappeared Katsu. You have successfully changed the world, and no one remembers anything about the original world...right?"

"Yes. In this world, only Kurumi and I know the original world... Although it was Kurumi who helped me restore Katsu's memory..."

"Let's not talk about the missing people for now... let's talk about the previous point first."

"Huh?" Shidou tilted his head to express his confusion, and Reine raised a finger.

"…Why are you and Kurumi the only ones who remember the things of the original world? Kurumi may have the memory of the original world because she changed the world with her own ability, but I don't understand why you remember it, Shidou."

"Hmm..." After hearing what Reine said, it really made sense. Shidou always thought that it was because he was the culprit who changed the world... But now that he is here, he should be living in a newly constructed world. Shidou doesn't know why he has no memories of the new world, but remembers things in the original world.

"...In order to possess the memories of the original world, I'm afraid certain conditions must be met."

"Conditions...what are the conditions?"

"...The details are unknown. If we exclude Kurumi, the Katsu you mentioned... is gone now, so there are too few examples to refer to. However, assuming that it is a condition such as 'having been shot by Kurumi with the [Twelfth Bullet]', what do you think?"

"This..."

Shidou showed a confused expression, and Kotori on the other side let out an "Ah!" and her eyes widened.

"Yes, she may remember what happened in her original world, even if she had memories of this world before that...!"

"Ah...!" After Kotori's explanation, Shidou finally understood.

"Wait… wait a minute, Reine. Are you saying… that the reversed Origami is the Origami that has restored the memory of the original world…?!"

Hearing what Shidou said, Reine quietly lowered her eyes.

"...I've said it before, this is just a hypothesis I came up with, but it's just a possibility. But...if you think about it this way, everything makes sense, and this is also the truth."

"But...but...the Origami that came to school was normal - or rather, it was the Origami that had the memories of this world..."

"... I have to ask Kurumi for the details, but unlike Shidou who has kept the memories of the original world from the beginning, Origami has the memories of this world. But if the information of the memories of the original world is forcibly input into Origami's mind, what will happen... At least, I don't think it will have any good effects on the host of the memory. Can we think that Origami with the memories of this world splits into Origami with the memories of the original world in order to defend herself?"

Reine continued: "...and the key to awakening Origami's memories of the original world is──"

"--The existence of spirits...right." Kotori said while holding up the Kabejia candy stick.

"...I'm afraid that's right." Reine nodded and replied: "...From the fact that she didn't react to Tohka in the classroom, it seems that she only reacted to spiritual power. If that's the case...it would be very dangerous to display the Astral dress in front of her."

Origami did indeed transform into a spirit only when she saw Kurumi. Then, after killing Kurumi, she immediately returned to her original self.

"No... but... if that's the case, what should I do -"

"What are you talking about?" Shidou said in a trembling voice, but Kotori interrupted him mercilessly.

"The other party is indeed the most violent and evil inverse spirit [Demon]. However, on the other hand, although she has powerful spiritual power, she will not turn into a spirit as long as special conditions are not met."

"That is..." Shidou said, clenching his fists tightly. Kotori was right, and running away would not help.

"—Although this is an abnormal case, since we know that Tobiichi Origami is the [Devil], there is only one thing Ratatoskr needs to do." Kotori looked at Shidou.

I understand without having to explain. Shidou pursed his lips.

Ratatoskr's philosophy is to use peaceful means to eliminate the power of the elves, the cause of the spacequake.

That is, date a spirit and make him/her fall in love with you...

but…---

"That...Kotori..."

Hearing Shidou calling her name, Kotori glanced at Shidou in confusion: "Hmm? Do you have any questions?"

"Ah..." Shidou scratched his cheek in confusion: "Um... Origami said...she has someone she likes..."

"Huh?!" Kotori looked at Shidou with a question mark on her face: "She has someone she likes?! What does that mean? Did she already have a boyfriend?"

"Ah...that's not the case." Shidou curled his lips.

"Hmph, don't you even have the confidence that your charm can surpass that of the other person?"

"... No." Shidou said expressionlessly, then sighed and said, "Origami likes... Katsu---"

"Katsu? Is that the...the disappeared...Katsu brother you mentioned? Is he handsome? Or does he have a perfect personality?"

"...You like him. All the spirits like him." Shidou rolled his eyes.

"Huh?" Kotori was slightly stunned and stopped talking immediately.

No wonder everyone has been feeling uncomfortable after Katsu went missing.

Seeing this, Shidou couldn't help but sigh again---

"Anyway, I asked her out for a chat. Of course, it was just a simple chat. Don't even think about dating tips or anything like that."