Chapter 162 — It’s Common Sense to Show Cleavage When Thanking Someone, Right?

—Tenguu City.

A place far more peaceful than Academy City, where disasters were comparatively rare.

A city that could more or less be called quiet and harmonious.

At this very moment, floating thousands of meters above the ground, a warship named Fraxinus sat silently in the sky.

This was the mobile command center for the organization Ratatoskr, a group formed to communicate with Spirits and resolve spacequake-related disasters through peaceful means.

Sounds noble on paper—but in practice?

The organization mainly existed to support Itsuka Shido in romancing the Spirits.

Honestly, they probably had a lot in common with a marriage agency.

Today, Itsuka Kotori was as laid-back as ever.

After all, if Reine Murasame—or rather, the original Spirit Mio Takamiya—was only targeting Shido, then the usual strategy should suffice: send Shido to go "capture" her heart.

Which was why training his romantic skills was still deemed essential.

Stealing a glance at Reine, who appeared to be diligently working, Kotori turned her attention to the screen, where Shido was on a date with both Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino.

Uh-oh. A problem had arisen!

Just as Shido gently embraced Tohka, Yoshino happened to see it.

Her eyebrows immediately furrowed.

Kotori's tone grew serious as she addressed the crew around her.

"Alright, it's time to choose."

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A: Say "Yoshino, you're just in time!" and embrace her too.

B: Let go of Tohka and quickly change the subject.

C: Confess to both of them at the same time.

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This was Ratatoskr's patented support method—turn Shido's love life into a multiple-choice question answered by the entire crew.

Basically, Shido was the protagonist of a real-life galgame.

As commander, Kotori had voting rights too. And seriously, this was a no-brainer—obviously B was the best answer!

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"Final choice: A."

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(╯°□°)╯︵┻━┻

What the hell?!

"All that salary—wasted!"

Slamming her palm to her face in frustration, Kotori looked like she was about to lose it right there in the commander's seat.

"Just as I thought. A was absolutely the correct choice," said Kannazuki Kyouhei, nodding to himself like some enlightened sage.

"Kotori, I'm pretty sure these people are going to be the death of me someday," came Shido's trembling voice over the headset.

"…Whatever. Good luck, Shido."

Emotionally exhausted, Kotori kicked her legs—clad in sleek black stockings—and hopped off her commander's chair.

"Commander, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Shido myself."

She waved over her shoulder without looking back.

Maybe she could help clean up the mess—or recover his body, if things really went south.

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[Group Member Inori Yuzuriha is requesting entry into your world.]

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"…Huh?"

Inorin?

Why the sudden visit?

Everyone in the group adored her.

She was the certified sweetheart of the chat—even that scumbag Lumine acted more civilized around her.

Picking up her pace slightly, Kotori kept this to herself. The chat group was too mysterious to explain to outsiders anyway.

Inori wouldn't come here on her own… unless—

Kotori's steps quickened into a full sprint, streaking through the sky in a small aircraft, leaving trails of light as she rushed home.

After some hesitation, she brought out her best tea leaves.

"…Isn't this a bit wasted on Nagami?"

Staring at the high-end gift from Councilman Woodman, Kotori twitched at the thought.

"…Yeah, I should've just bought some cheap convenience store stuff."

"I don't remember doing anything to offend you recently."

The sudden voice behind her almost made Kotori drop the teacup.

Barely keeping her balance, she turned and saw that irritatingly familiar face.

Kotori gave him a dead-eyed look. "Why the hell can you just enter my world without even applying?"

She handed him a cup of freshly brewed tea as she approved Inori's request.

"Sorry, I'm the group admin. I do what I want."

The moment the soft voice of the pink-haired girl rang out, her brilliant eyes darted around—relaxing only when she saw Nagami.

Taking a sip of the steaming tea, Nagami glanced at Kotori, who wore that classic 'why-does-the-admin-have-this-much-power' expression, wondering if the chat system treated members like actual people at all.

"Yup, I live for that jealous face of yours."

"Spit the tea out right now!"

Watching Nagami act so smug, Kotori clenched her fists.

"…Kotori, you've changed. You weren't like this before."

Nagami exaggerated a dramatic sigh, dragging out a chair to sit like he owned the place.

"Oh really? And pray tell, whose fault is that?"

Her smile was forced, and her pretty face twitched slightly.

"Isn't it obvious? Lumine's, of course!"

"…Heh."

"What's that 'heh' supposed to mean?"

"Heh…"

The two bantered like long-time frenemies, not at all like this was their first offline meetup.

After a bit more playful bickering—

"So? What brings you both here?"

Kotori noticed Nagami glancing repeatedly at the headband on her head, prompting her to instinctively step two meters back, full of suspicion.

In her little sister mode, Kotori knew that if she let her guard down around Nagami, he'd bully her into the ground.

"As the responsible and ever-helpful group leader, of course I'm here to help my adorable guild members deal with their Spirit problem~" Nagami said smugly.

"Wow, how amazing," Kotori replied, her tone flat as cardboard.

"Dealing with Spirits... your target is [Nightmare], isn't it?"

She ignored the first half of his sentence—she already had a good idea of Nagami's goal.

After all, he'd mentioned it in the chat group long ago.

"Right on. Time-based abilities are rare even across the multiverse. After all… the ability to turn back time—that can change far too many regrets."

Nagami snatched the lollipop Kotori had just pulled out of her pocket, unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth.

"This thing's actually really good? You've got one in your mouth like… all the time."

"Here, Yuzuriha. One for you too."

Kotori shot him a glare, then took out another lollipop, gently unwrapped it, and handed it to Inori.

"Mio Takamiya… do you have a plan for her? I mean, I know this is just a light-hearted romcom world now, so it's not like I'm nervous anymore. But still, when I stop and think, I can't help but feel uneasy."

Kotori didn't bother with formalities around Nagami—they were old partners in chaos. She got straight to the point.

"That attitude is gonna get you killed one day. You really should take this more seriously."

Nagami's expression was uncharacteristically serious.

"For example—do you really love Shido Itsuka?"

"Of course not! I've always seen him as a big brother, okay?!"

"Exactly~ So why are you trusting that the anime plot will stay the same?"

He shrugged, his eyes thoughtful.

"As for Mio Takamiya… I'm honestly not sure either."

The Spirits, tied to the ten Sephirot of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, each manifested their powers through unique entities known as 'Angels.'

But Mio, the First Spirit, possessed not one, but three Angels.

First Angel: Ain Soph Aur (Holy Hall of All Things)

It unleashes clouds of glowing pollen-like particles that ignore all defenses and decay anything they touch.

Think of it as a supercharged version of Mayuri's Angel—but the destructive output is on an entirely different level.

Second Angel: Eden of Reincarnation

She expands tree-like roots to create a personal domain. In this realm, she becomes a godlike being capable of rewriting any rule. Nearly omnipotent.

Third Angel: The Nameless Angel

This one breaks all the rules. It can erase events from existence entirely, down to their origin. It's absurd.

Nagami didn't know whether this 'Code' and the Nameless Angel were on equal footing. But one thing he did know—Mio couldn't kill him.

Not with C.C. still residing in the Honkai world. No matter how strong she was, Mio couldn't reach across dimensions to erase C.C. from existence.

Still… being unkillable doesn't mean he could win.

Granted, Nagami had just received an epic-tier power-up—Honkai energy fused with Void energy, raising both its quality and potential.

His Herrscher Core was no longer restricted in output and had been elevated to a higher level.

Overall, his combat ability had increased significantly, but most of that boost improved his potential—his future ceiling, not necessarily his current power.

"Until I actually fight her, I can't say for sure."

He fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then he looked up at Kotori, who wore a troubled expression.

Without warning, he reached out and patted her head gently.

"But don't worry. As long as I'm around, you'll never have to face a boss fight alone. I'm the most reliable teammate you could ask for."

"I'll help too," Inori chimed in. She wasn't sure what she could actually contribute, but she still wanted to lend a hand.

"Thanks, Yuzuriha." Kotori smiled warmly at the pink-haired girl.

"Hey hey hey, what about me?! I'm the main DPS here!"

Nagami dramatically clutched his chest and sighed toward the sky.

"The world is cold… human hearts even colder. I travel all this way to help you, and I don't even get a single word of thanks? It's tragic!"

"...Are you performing a stage play right now?"

She rolled her eyes at his over-the-top antics, though her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush.

"Alright, alright! Thanks so much, Nagami… onii-chan. Happy now?!"

"Ehh, that sounded totally insincere. Also, isn't it common sense to flash your chest when saying thank you?"

"..."

"You know what? You can go die now!"

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