"I don't mind," someone said from the other roomYukino stepped out of her bedroom. Her cool gaze flicked briefly at Rei Ao, annoyance still evident from before.
She also sent him a private message in the chat group:
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Don't assume I'm oblivious to your intentions toward Alicia."
Rei Ao: "Haha, do I make it that obvious?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Hmph, you're just a biglecher."
She glared at him icily.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "But you are not allowed to force her into any trades."
Rei Ao: "Yukino, you underestimate me. Forcing others is not my style. A trade must be consensual. That's how it was between us, wasn't it?"
"!"
Yukino flushed at the memory. Indeed, at the time, she had insisted on the transaction herself, and she'd ended up unable to escape Rei Ao's grasp.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "I believe you. That's enough, right? As for Alicia, I'll look after her."
Rei Ao: "Alright."
"Since Yukino's fine with you staying," Rei Ao said to Alicia, "I won't interfere."
But he did add, "Still, I hope you won't become a lazy bum like Mabel."
Alarmed, Alicia vigorously shook her head.
"I won't! I'm definitely not going to be a slacker."
"I can do chores, clean rooms, handle laundry, maybe even learn to cook!"
"Great, that's settled."
Seeing her so energetic, Rei Ao felt reassured and prepared to leave. Yet, just as he took a step, he heard a soft grumble:
"Who are you calling a lazy bum? You're the lazy bum, pfft"
"Oh?"
Rei Ao's lips quirked. Aborting his exit to the front door, he instead turned toward a different door in the apartmentthe one leading to a certain bedroom.
Yukino's eyelid twitches; obviously, she, too, had heard Mabel's mutter. Indeed, Mabel had no idea what she was getting herself into.
But Yukino did not intend to stop him. After all, Mabel's laziness had grown increasingly severe day by day. Even Yukino's good-natured patience was wearing thin.
'Let Rei Ao teach her a lesson,' she thought.
The door to the smaller bedroom opened with a click.
Mabel, who'd been eavesdropping behind it, froze, seeing Rei Ao's mischievous grin.
Doom.
"M-Master II didn't mean it! I was just I'm sorry. I won't badmouth you anymore!"
"Ha, oh really? Too late!"
Alicia jumped at the startled cries echoing from that room.
"U-Um, Yukino, wh-what's happening in there?"
Lacking Yukino's sharper hearing, Alicia understood only part of it.
"It's just Rei Ao teaching Mabel not to be a lazybones. Go on and rest; don't mind the noise."
With that, Yukino turned away, heading for her own bedroom. She had no interest in hearing any further odd sounds that might make her entire body heat up. Sleep was the better option.
"E-eh?" Alicia blurted, still not quite understanding.
Moments later, strange noises reached her ears, making Alicia's entire face burn red.
"Eeeek!"
The next morning
"Rrrrring!"
"Mmm"
A delicate hand switched off the alarm.
The owner of that hand slowly sat up, eyes foggy with sleep.
"Tsk, morning already," the girl muttered. It was Ai Hayasaka, rubbing her not-yet-alert face. She forced herself awake. Checking the time, she got out of bed. Waking early was already her habitshe needed to look after Lady Kaguya Shinomiya.
She never lazed around in bed. In one swift, practiced routine, she washed up, changed clothes, and was soon ready. It was almost time for Kaguya to be roused.
Reaching Kaguya's door, she knocked:
"My Lady, it's time to get up."
After a few seconds, a voice inside replied:
"Oh Ai? You may enter."
Receiving permission, Hayasaka opened the door. She found Kaguya kneeling on her bed, bleary-eyed. Hayasaka was about to step forward when she froze in place.
Ding! A system-like prompt flashed before her eyes:
[Ding! You have been invited to join the "Trading Chat Group!"]
"Huh?"
"My Lady, why did you stop? Something the matter?"
Kaguya Shinomiya, noticing Hayasaka motionless in the doorway, frowned.
"Ai? Did you find something strange?"
Confusion was plain on Kaguya's face. Hayasaka studied her mistress's expression. Kaguya looked serious but also genuinely at a lossshe evidently saw no strange interface or prompt.
So only Hayasaka can see it
Suppressing the shock rolling through her mind, Ai Hayasaka gently bowed:
"Lady Kaguya, I don't feel well. May I excuse myself for a moment?"
"What? You're not feeling well? I'll have the driver take you to the hospital right!"
"!"
Seeing Kaguya about to summon help, Ai Hayasaka felt a warmth in her chest. Lady Kaguya's concern for her was genuine. But this she had to refuse:
"No, My Lady, it's just a mild strain on my eyes. Let me wash my facethen I'll be fine."
"Oh, oh! Go on quickly, then."
Kaguya let out a breath of relief.
"Don't push yourself."
~~~
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Chapter 568: Hayakasa Ai and Yatogami Tohka
Bathroom.
Hayasaka Ai splashed cold water on her face, hoping to fully clear her head. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight ahead.
""
The translucent screen before her eyes had not disappeared.
All right.
She had confirmed that her eyesight was normal and this was not an illusion.
"It seems I really have encountered something utterly bizarre."
One could call ita supernatural event?
She accepted this reality.
Recalling the knowledge that had just surfaced in her mind about the so-called "chat group," Hayasaka Ai began studying it. Each piece of it upended her worldview, leaving her somewhat dazed.
What most seized her attention was the name of the group's owner: Rei Ao, along with several names in the "This World" sub-group. Some of these names she recognizedpeople from the academy about whom she had heard or had gathered intelligence.
"Are they really the same people?"
In fact, Hayasaka Ai had already suspected some hidden connections. At this moment, all the clues she had gleaned from stalking Rei Ao for days suddenly made sense and formed a complete chain.
"Iseem to have stumbled upon an incredible secret."
Hayasaka Ai's eyelids twitched. A foreboding sense crept inknowing secrets often came with a price. And sure enough, the next second, a message appeared in the group:
Rei Ao: "@Hayasaka Ai, @Yatogami Tohka, newly joined membersif you're available, why not say hello to everyone?"
Meanwhile, back at Rei Ao's place, he was just rousing from Mabel's lazy, koala-like hold.
He noticed the chat group's prompt right away:
[Ding! Hayasaka Ai has joined the trading chat group!]
[Ding! Yatogami Tohka has joined the trading chat group!]
Two new members at once!
Rei Ao brightened. He started to move his body just a little
"Mmm tastes so good want more"
Next to him, Mabel's murmuring was full of half-asleep, half-awake incoherence.
""
Rei Ao's forehead twitched. This girl was too strange. When he was about to "educate" her, she resisted with all her might, wailing as if being killed. But once the "education" began, she turned strangely cooperative.
"You little glutton."
He tossed out a brief complaint, pushing her drooping head away. Sitting upright on the bed, he turned his attention to the chat group.
He first read the new members' info:
[Name]: Hayasaka Ai
[Level]: 0
[Ability]: None
Yes, an old acquaintance. Next:
[Name]: Yatogami Tohka
[Level]: 33
[Ability]: "Adonai Melek Ensufall," "Angel: ," "Demon King: (Unawakened)"
This revelation intrigued Rei Aoso the newcomer was a Spirit from Date A Live.
Confirming the two's identities, Rei Ao posted in the group:
Rei Ao: "@everyone, if you're awake, come welcome our new members."
Aihara Enju: "Here, Rei Ao-oniichan!"
Rei Ao: "I meant to welcome the newcomers, not me."
Izawa Shizue: "Welcome to both new members."
Hiiragi Shinoa: "Been a while since new folks joined."
Busujima Saeko: "I wonder if this newcomer is also on guard, like many were at first."
Akame: "Time will fix that, eventually."
Sui: "Yes, indeed."
Rei Ao: "@Hayasaka Ai, @Yatogami Tohka, if you're here, say hello?"
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
Hayasaka Ai: "@Rei Ao. You're Rei Ao, a third-year, Class 3 student at Shuchiin Academy?"
Sakurajima Mai: "Huh??"
Kasuga Hijiri: "What's going on? Why does she know so much about Rei Ao's identity right away?"
Rei Ao: "That's me."
Rei Ao: "Hayasaka Ai, never thought we'd finally talk this way."
"!!!"
Hayasaka Ai grew tense.
Hayasaka Ai: "You know me?"
Rei Ao: "Of course. Recently, a certain "little tail" has been following me around at school, secretly observing how I interact with Mai and the others. Wasn't that you, Hayasaka Ai?"
"???"
Hayasaka Ai froze. He had known all along?
Frieren: "Hmm, that phrase sounds suspicious."
Yotsuya Miko: "Ugh, it's like a creepy stalker vibescary."
Bibi Dong: "@Hayasaka Ai, you had best clarify your intentions at once. If you're threatening Rei Ao, I can crush your bones to dust!"
Tohru: "Humph, no needmy dragonfire can reduce her to nothing in an instant."
Erica: "Though they're speaking in rather fantastical terms I can attest they're serious"
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
She felt a chill, as though truly being targeted by something terrifying.
Hayasaka Ai: "II have no hidden agenda."
Stella: "A lie. If you had no purpose, why stalk Rei Ao?"
Hayasaka Ai: "I swear I'm being honest. I only got curious after I glimpsed him showing superhuman abilities, so I wanted to verify if he was truly beyond normal humans."
Megumi Kato: "Yes, that matches the notes I read."
Mai Sakurajima: "Kato? You know her too?"
Megumi Kato: "I don't actually know her personally, but I've noticed her. Each day she takes notes while watching Rei Ao, and everything in her notes lines up with what she claims."
Hayasaka Ai: "?"
Hayasaka Ai: "How do you know all that?"
She did recall that from start to finish, she had never sensed anyone else's presence. So how had Megumi Kato seen her records?
Megumi Kato: "I decreased my sense of presence behind you the entire time. I literally stood behind you, reading your notes. You never noticed me."
Hayasaka Ai: "!"
All at once, realization dawned. So Megumi had been behind her like an invisible observer. That meant any time she was sneaking around, someone else was sneaking behind her.
She thought of that possibility and felt goosebumps. Subconsciously, she whirled around to look behind her only to see emptiness.
But she couldn't shake the illusion that an invisible figure was indeed standing right there, quietly staring at her.
~~~
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Chapter 569: Spirit of Origin! Space quakes! Etc!
Hayasaka Ai: "@Megumi Kato, you're not standing behind me right now, are you?"
Megumi Kato: "I'm at home."
After confirming that, Hayasaka Ai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But she still couldn't shake the eerie feeling.
Her thoughts began to race.
"So there are not only superhumans like Rei Ao at school..."
Ever since joining this mysterious chat group, it felt like her entire worldview had been completely overturned.
Yatogami Tohka: "You guys... are you humans?"
Tohru: "I'm a dragon. A real dragon."
Frieren: "Elves are a type of human too... right?"
Sui: "Emm... I think you're just a pure elf."
Frieren: "But humans and elves can have children together. Doesn't that mean we're the same kind of life form?"
Sui: "That..."
Sui hesitated.
Thinking about it like that, it actually made sense.
Misaka Mikoto: "Emmm, you guys are going to scare the new people away, talking about dragons and elves."
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
Hayasaka Ai: "Are you joking? Or are you role-playing?"
Dragons?
Elves?
How did this suddenly go from science fiction to pure fantasy?
Rei Ao: "Hayasaka Ai, calm down."
Rei Ao: "They're neither joking nor role-playing. Tohru is indeed a dragonand she's our family's dragon maid."
Rei Ao: "In the future, the group may even welcome more non-human beings. It's good to get used to it early."
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
She opened her mouth but couldn't find the words.
She really wanted to complain about having a giant dragon maid
But she held back.
Because apparently, dragons actually exist in this world!
What could be more shocking than that?
No wonder that dragon girl called Tohru said she could burn her to ashes with just one breath.
Thinking about it, Hayasaka Ai felt like she had narrowly escaped death.
Luckily, she had never shown any ill will towards Rei Ao.
Otherwise, either "invisible girl" Megumi Kato or "dragon girl" Tohru could have easily finished her off.
One could silently slit her throat.
The other could incinerate her into dust.
Yatogami Tohka: "Elves? @Frieren, @Sui, are you also elves?"
Frieren: "Oh? Looks like the new girl is also an elf."
Yomogawa Ayame: "Looks like another elf has joined the chat."
Rei Ao: "No, what she calls 'elf' is different from what you think."
Bibi Dong: "Huh?"
Blizzard from Hell: "What's the difference?"
Rei Ao: "Sui and Frieren are traditional elves with pointy ears."
Rei Ao: "But Yatogami Tohka and the elves from her world are special beings who possess unique powers. Most of them are actually transformed from humans."
Yatogami Tohka: "?"
Yatogami Tohka: "You're saying Elves are transformed from humans? How can that be?"
Rei Ao: "I'm simply stating a fact."
Rei Ao: "Most of the elves in your world were once humans who fused with Spirit Crystals. You, however, are a pure elf born from a Spirit Crystal."
To be more precise, they were created by the Spirit of Origin, Mio Takamiya.
Yatogami Tohka: "..."
Stella: "I don't understand what you're all talking about."
Shiba Miyuki: "It's probably terminology from Tohka's world. It's normal if you don't get it."
Rei Ao: "Forget it, let's not get too deep into that now. @Yatogami Tohka, where are you right now?"
Yatogami Tohka: "Neighboring World."
Rei Ao: "Hmm?"
Rei Ao paused in thought.
The Neighboring World.
It was the casual domain of the Spirit of Origin, Mio Takamiya.
