Chapter 153: A Private Date with Nao

Nao was taken back to the containment site and regained her original memories. For now, the guidance arc of the reconnaissance knight had come to an end.

Soon, the Stormterror incident would take place in Mondstadt, leading to the emergence of the God of Wind in an attempt to shape a deity.

However, the danger level of the Stormterror incident was far beyond that of the slime incident.

The Foundation needed to make more preparations to deal with potential threats.

As for the little witch, she would temporarily be accompanied by Paimon to run commissions in Mondstadt.

After all, what kind of Traveler doesn't do daily commissions?

The Primogems prepared for the little witch were small, lightweight, shiny, four-sided candies.

Once she ate them, an experience bar would be projected onto her retina.

Just like with elemental power—

As long as the little witch accepted the concept of the experience bar, there would be no need to project it every time to maintain the illusion.

After regaining her memories, Nao toyed with the Vision hanging at her waist.

At this moment, the Vision was burning with tangible flames, with a special fire symbol faintly appearing.

Holding it in her hand, Nao felt a peculiar sensation.

This Vision seemed like an extension of herself like her limbs, an actual part of her body. And with just a thought, she could draw upon the fire element within.

With a snap of her fingers, a pure flame appeared in Nao's hand.

The fire flickered in her palm, radiating heat, yet it did not harm her in the slightest.

Fascinated, Nao played with the flames for a while before finally dispersing them. When she looked up, she found Haruto watching her with a grin.

Nao stuck out her tongue.

"What is it, Big Brother? You're staring at me like that, do I have something on my face?"

Haruto shook his head.

"I just think Nao looks really beautiful."

It was the truth.

Dressed in an Amber cosplay outfit, illuminated by the firelight, Nao had a unique kind of beauty.

Haruto suddenly understood how Rentaro must have felt.

Ahem.

Hearing his words, Nao pouted playfully.

"Eh? Really? Big Brother, you're always lying, now you don't even blink when you do it!"

Haruto clicked his tongue in response.

Come to think of it, he had noticed before—

Nao didn't seem to have a clear perception of her own appearance. She was clearly a beautiful girl, yet she seemed completely unaware of it.

So, Haruto decided to test the waters,

"Could it be that you don't know you're a beautiful girl? The kind that would be super popular at school?"

As expected, Nao froze upon hearing this. But moments later, she suddenly beamed with excitement.

"Really? That's great! I'm actually a beautiful girl!"

Haruto sighed and facepalmed.

Reaching out, he ruffled Nao's white hair, then turned to leave. However, she immediately grabbed the corner of his shirt.

Haruto turned back, puzzled, only to see that the once cheerful Nao now looked pitifully upset.

"Big Brother hasn't been home for a long time… Is it because Ane-nee is too old and no longer attractive?"

Nao spoke with a heartbroken expression.

Haruto: !?

What kind of nonsense was that?!

Haruto immediately panicked.

Watching his reaction, Nao suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hoshino Ai said that if I said that, Big Brother would definitely panic."

Haruto: !

He couldn't deny it, he really had panicked.

Not because of the teasing words themselves, but because they came from Nao. Nao had always been his innocent little confidante, straightforward to the point of being oblivious.

It was hard to imagine her saying something so weird.

And yet…

His fists clenched.

Haruto could already picture Hoshino Ai with her cunning smirk while coaching Nao.

Had he been too lenient with that idol girl?

"By the way, how did you even end up hanging out with Hoshino Ai?"

Haruto asked suspiciously.

At his question, Nao averted her gaze.

"Just some work-related matters…"

Haruto narrowed his eyes.

Nao, the station director of the Chiba City site, was handling work handover with Hoshino Ai, who was responsible for external information dissemination?

And besides, Nao's guilty look, wasn't that just an obvious lie?!

Just as Haruto was feeling puzzled, Nao suddenly puffed up her cheeks, looking adorably upset.

"But, Big Brother really hasn't been home for a long time!"

Hearing this, Haruto paused to think.

Previously, he had been advancing matters in the Demon Slayer world, then dealing with the Undying Lizard and Tomie.

After that, he had been working on the Shinomiya Financial Group situation and planning the God's Eye project for the little witch.

It seemed he really hadn't been back to the apartment for quite a while.

So…

"Then I'll go home today," Haruto said.

However, Nao quickly shook her head.

Haruto: o.O?

"Today's Big Brother is someone I worked hard to get, so I'm going to monopolize you! Let's go on a date!"

Nao declared this boldly.

Haruto raised an eyebrow.

"Did Hoshino Ai teach you this too?"

Nao averted her gaze again.

Haruto couldn't help but facepalm.

Hoshino Ai was still a young girl with no actual romantic experience, but how did the things she taught manage to hit the mark so precisely?

Was this even reasonable?

"...Fine," Haruto finally gave in.

In response, Nao immediately turned and dashed toward her office. When she returned, she was holding two tickets in her hands.

Haruto sighed.

So this was premeditated, huh?

Tomori Nao handed one of the tickets to Haruto.

Taking a look, he realized it was for a band performance.

A ZHIEND theater concert.

Haruto was familiar with this band since Tomori Nao had been a fan for a long time. The MP3 player he had gifted her before was mainly used to listen to ZHIEND's music.

Haruto had heard some of their songs, they were a rock band whose music conveyed a sense of freedom.

Eren would probably love this band…

Ahem.

Since Nao liked them, Haruto naturally had a favorable impression of the band as well. Watching a live performance as part of their date didn't seem like a bad idea.

However…

Haruto reached out and flicked Nao's forehead.

"Nao, did you check the showtime on the ticket? Do you know what time it is now?"

Nao, rubbing her forehead, instinctively looked down at the ticket.

And then she realized—

The concert was today, and the show was starting…

In five minutes!

At a venue in Shimokitazawa.

Meanwhile, where were Haruto and Nao?

In an offshore underground facility outside of Japan, a site specifically designated for high-risk anomalous experiments.

Between here and Shimokitazawa, there was an entire ocean.

"Big Brother must have a way to get us there, right?"

Nao clumsily attempted to act cute.

This was another lesson from Hoshino Ai, whenever there was trouble, just use cuteness to get through it.

Seeing her awkward attempt, Haruto helplessly shook his head.

What could he do? She was his precious girl, he could only spoil her.

Wrapping an arm around Nao's waist, Haruto lifted her in a princess carry. Then, he sprinted down the Foundation corridor.

Eventually, the two exited the site through an undersea passage.

Once outside, Haruto scanned the surroundings to ensure there were no observers.

Then, a pair of black wings emerged from his back.

Holding Nao, he flapped his wings once.

With a sharp sonic boom, they sliced through the air, speeding across the ocean toward Japan.

Nao watched as the scenery rushed past, the wind visibly distorting around them like a tangible force.

She was amazed.

Nestled safely in Haruto's embrace, she couldn't feel the extreme speed at all.

"Yay!" Nao cheered as Japan drew closer.

Haruto flicked her forehead again.

"This is a one-time thing! Anomalous abilities aren't meant to be used just to catch a concert!"

Nao giggled and nodded in understanding.

Finally, they landed in a secluded alley in Shimokitazawa.

Just as the last call for ticket scanning was announced, the two hurried into the venue.

The "theater" was actually more like a large bar, selling drinks, snacks, and alcohol. With its design, it felt more like a nightclub, with the stage resembling a dance floor.

But this was common in Japan, most concert halls were structured this way.

In Japan, the idol and music industry had a massive number of performers.

Without the backing of a strong agency, idols and bands had to start in underground venues like this, scraping by with ticket sales and fan donations.

The income was barely enough to survive.

Most who stuck with it did so purely out of love for the craft.

Come to think of it, if Hoshino Ai had never met Haruto, she probably would have started as an underground idol too.

She clearly had talent, but she would have needed to grind in places like this to build a fanbase and wait for an opportunity.

Ahem, getting off track.

Inside the venue, a decent crowd had already gathered.

ZHIEND wasn't a top-tier band, but they had a solid fanbase.

Most of the attendees were dedicated fans of ZHIEND.