she grit her teeth in regret.

"shidou! Bring that swimsuit over!"

"Eh....?"

What Tohka was pointing at, was a bikini that was hung near Shidou. When compared to the swimsuit that Tohka was currently wearing, it was a sexy design that was four times as revealing.

"Th, this one? But Tohka, won't you be embarrass——"

"Just, hurry up and hand it over to me!"

Being ordered by Tohka, Shidou had no other choice but to hand the swimsuit over. Tohka snatched it over as though she were attempting to tear it apart, closing the curtain. Subsequently, after a chaotic sound came out from behind the curtain——

"H, how is this one!"

The next moment the curtain opened, Tohka's figure appeared once more with a totally different impression from the previous one.

Wearing the daring bikini that Shidou had just passed her, her cheeks were tinged red, using her hands to cover her thighs and belly button——however her hands kept fidgeting with an expression of being totally unable to calm down.

"This, this is...."

Shidou couldn't help but gulp. Although the swimsuit that Origami wore just now was extremely eye catching, but Tohka's present look had a different kind of charm. The black bikini and Tohka's healthy figure complemented each other. Furthermore, Tohka's shame of not being used to exposing her skin to this extent had also contributed to her appearance. To be honest, it was unbearable.

"....Well then, let's add on with a good morning kiss."

"Ah——"

Reine's voice entered his right ear, causing Shidou's body to tremble. Due to being entranced by Tohka's seductive appearance. He was out before he could even talk back.

"shidou, this, does this look good on me....?"

Tohka fidgeted as she questioned him. Shidou nodded his head in reply.

"Tha, is that so!"

"........"

However, Origami at this moment also had her fighting spirit riled up. Wordlessly walking inside the fitting room.

Not long later the curtain opened, standing over there was Origami's figure that had already changed back into her casual clothing. If she had wanted to compete with Tohka, shouldn't she change into a swimsuit that had a much larger skin exposure compared to Tohka's....!? For Shidou who had mentally prepared himself, it was an unexpected move.

It looks like Tohka had the same thought as Shidou. Looking at Origami's clothing with a face full of surprise, she crossed her arms around her chest and made a sound with her nose.

"Hmph, so you decided to admit defeat. So you do have some common sense after all!"

However Origami ignored Tohka's words, remaining silent as she motioned her hand for Shidou to come over.

"Eh? Wh, what's the matter?"

Shidou, though suspicious, approached Origami, Origami grabbed Shidou's wrist, moving it towards her own skirt.

"Uwa!?"

"Wh, what are you doing, you!"

Shidou wildly cried out, and Tohka too became flustered upon witnessing that scene.

However Origami had a look of utmost calm, silently parting her lips.

"——Lift it up."

""Wha....!?""

Shidou and Tohka's voice perfectly overlapped. Although his right ear seemed to have picked up an alarm, he didn't have the spare time to pay attention to that. Not understanding Origami's actions, his vision started to wander about.

"Wh, what are you talking about Origami. This kind of——"

"That's right you, you are already going against the rules!"

"I've been abiding by the rules. Shidou, raise it up."

"No, tha, that is really...."

Shidou's fingertips trembled as his voice started to become incoherent, Origami's hand that was tightly gripping onto Shidou's increased in strength. Slowly, her skirt was being lifted up.

"Wa, wait a moment, Origami....!?"

Even though he tried to resist, it was futile. Slowly but surely, the forbidden triangle territory was revealed. What was even more depressing was, Shidou too was a male. Even though his vision was all over the place, he couldn't help but peep at the area below the skirt.

Underneath Origami's casual clothes was, a white swimsuit.

"This....! What is this!?"

Tohka cried out in surprise.

"I've said it before. I didn't break any rules."

Seemingly being very satisfied, Origami sent her gaze towards Tohka.

So that was the case, making use of creativity. Not raising the degree of exposure, on the contrary, raising the degree of concealment.

If that was the case then the destructive power of the swimsuit would explosively increase by multiple times. It was her victory. As expected of Raizen High School's genius. Shidou's overheated brain pondered over this issue in a daze.

"In conclusion, the one that made his heart race the most is me. ——I'll be accepting the right to date him."

"H, how can this be...."

Tohka walked to Shidou's side with an expression of panic, placing her ear onto his chest.

After several seconds of hearing Shidou's heartbeat, she showed an expression of shock.

"Hi, his heartbeat increased...."

Origami calmly flipped her skirt.

"Why don't you just admit defeat already?"

"Gu, gugugugugu...."

Tohka ground her teeth as though regretting something, taking hold of Shidou's right hand that Origami had just let go of.

"Toh, Tohka....?"

Not understanding Tohka's intentions, he widened his two eyes.

Tohka's face turned red and her two hands held Shidou's right hand, saying "Alright" as though she had her determination set on something.

"Yoshinon....I believe in you....!"

Saying that, Shidou's hand was forcefully dragged towards her direction.

"Wha——!"

Shidou exerted force in the nick of time, interrupting her actions.

That was because his hand's destination was——being wrapped in a swimsuit, Tohka's soft breasts.

"Wait, wh, what on earth are you trying to do Tohka! Stop this already!"

"N, no no no....! I want to make your heartbeat faster too, Shidou!"

"Alright alright! It's already beating fast enough!"

"Re, really....?"

Tohka's eyebrows bent into an [八] shape, once again paying close attention to Shidou's heartbeat.

After that, a few seconds later.

"Your heart was beating faster when Tobiichi Origami did it....!"

Crying aloud in despair, Tohka tried to press Shidou's hand onto her own chest once more. Due to her feeling extremely embarrassed, her face was as red as a tomato.

"Wait, wait a minute! Calm down Tohka! You're embarrassed too right!? It's impossible!"

"It, it's okay....! It's fine if it is shidou! You've already touched them before right!?"

"What is the meaning of this? I hope you can explain it in closer detail."

"Don't just concentrate on that fact alone, why don't you stop heeerrr!"

And then, as Shidou yelled in despair, the next instant.

"Shidou....sa....n....!"

A sound like a mosquito seemed to have sounded out.

"Eh....?"

Tohka and Origami seemed to have noticed it as well. Suddenly stopping in their tracks, they frowned in surprise.

"Uu....that voice just now was......"

"...."

"It should be....Yoshino."

Shidou concentrated, once again trying to hear that weak voice once more.

"Shi....dou-san.... P, please....please....save me...."

It seems that the sound was coming from the third fitting room.

——Save me. The instant he recognized that phrase, Shidou hastily ran over, pulling the curtain open.

"....! Yoshino, is something wrong!? Are you alright!?"

The curtain had been forcibly opened. And then——over there was.

"Shi, Shidou-san...."

Although she was wearing clothes, Yoshino was still remaining in a half naked state, in a situation where the bikini swimwear had just been worn, she was holding on to her chest while crying.

How do you put it, that look. It had an amazing effect when coupled with Yoshino's petite figure, releasing huge amounts of coquettish charm that would cause Shidou to have forbidden sexual tendencies.

"It, it's difficult....to wear it, if I'm only using one hand...."

Yoshino softly said.

By his ear, the most sonorous alarm sound for today rang out.

....That was the instant the winner of the right to date Shidou was announced.

◇

"Haa....Why does today have to be so tiring...."

Reclining on the chair inside the lounge of <Fraxinus>, Shidou heavily sighed. Bringing the paper cup to his mouth, he finished the coffee inside in a single gulp. Although it was a lounge, it was in reality nothing special. There were only a few (free) automated vending machines located in some of the indents of the wall, and in front of the machines were two long benches. It was a simple space that had two tall plants for aesthetics purposes.

Of course there was another dining area that was more comfortable, however Shidou preferred places with less human traffic. ....Especially since today was such a taxing day.

"It's fine if it was just training, but what would I do if I run out of energy before the actual event...."

In the end Shidou bought swimsuits for the three girls as a present, returning home for lunch.

After that Reine called him out to reconfirm about the details of the plan. Midway through he was dragged out for lunch by Tohka and Yoshino, wasting a considerable amount of time.

He was hoping to speak to Kotori at least once, but due to her unstable condition his wish was unable to be granted. Plainly said it was because there was nothing for Shidou to do until tomorrow, thus as a result he was allowed to do as he pleased and therefore he was feeling lost as to what to do.

"........"

He looked at the ceiling in a daze, lightly giving out a sigh.

It was fine up till just now......it was only halfway through that due to those needless thoughts, it caused himself to become like this.

To describe it in detail would simply be——what he had heard yesterday, his conversation with Origami.

(Five years ago. The one that caused the huge fire at the residential district of Nankou-machi, the spirit who burned my parents to cinders in front of me.——That was, that spirit of flames.)

"Could it......really be, Kotori......?"

Kotori. Shidou's little sister, killed Origami's parents.

This sort of thing, is too sudden for him to believe and he too did not wish to believe it to be a fact.

However, he can't believe that that Origami would pull such a prank, that too was the truth.

"So......what exactly is the truth?"

Attempting to search his memories from five years ago, inside Shidou's brain——that restricted area caused a sharp sensation of pain.

"Uuh......"

That's right. Shidou still had not recalled the entirety of the whole incident.

——What exactly happened five years ago.

——Why does Shidou, or Kotori know about the method to seal the power of the spirits.

No matter what it was, he was unable to recall. It was as though Shidou's memories have been fitted with a strange filter, a horrible feeling.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit over here?"

And then, the voice of a male rang out from above him, causing him to jump.

Looking in that direction, it was Kannazuki who was holding a packet drink stood.

"Ah......please."

After Shidou said those words, Kannazuki gave a light smile and sat down.

"How do you feel, Shidou-kun. Are you confident for tomorrow's events?"

"No, haha......to be honest, it's impossible to be calm right now. To me, asking me to make that Kotori fall in love is something that is really unthinkable. It's unbelievable that five years ago I was able to seal Kotori's pow——"

Midway through his words, Shidou stopped speaking. Before all that, he had no memories of that at all.

"......? Is something wrong?"

"Aaah......That, actually......"

Shidou described his inability to recall the events from five years ago to Kannazuki.

"Mhm......no memories, huh......"

"......Yeah. Only that incident has been obscured."

"Well, it is as I had expected huh."

"Eh?"

Shidou widened his two eyes, Kannazuki brought the packet drink to his mouth as he replied.

"Well, it was that time when we first said that the Commander was a spirit, your reaction was more surprising than I had thought. If you had remembered the events from five years ago, your reaction would probably have been different."

Kannazuki placed the drink packet on the bench, placing his hand under his chin as though thinking of something.

"Mhm. If it is alright with you, would you want to view a video?"

"A video......?"

After questioning with his eyebrows knitted together, Kannazuki nodded his head exaggeratedly.

"That's right. We have the video recording of that huge conflagration at Nankou-machi from five years ago. Although it is only a few minutes long, but the figure of Shidou-kun and the Commander in spirit form was captured."

"......!"

Shidou held his breath, widening his eyes. It was a good thing that he had finished drinking the coffee. If he were still holding onto the packet drink, he would most definitely had caused a huge mess on the floor.

"Does that sort of video still exist!?"

"Nn. It seemed to have been captured by chance by a certain television station, <Ratatoskr> had intercepted the master copy before they could release it to the public. ——Are you ready?"

"I, I'm counting on you......!"

No matter what. Shidou hastily nodded his head in reply.

◇

"Origami!? You should have contacted us sooner, like the moment you were discharged."

After parting ways with Shidou, she went down to visit the CR-Unit hangar inside Tenguu Base before going home. Kusakabe Ryouko, leader of the AST, said such a line to her.

Wearing work pants and a black tank top, she looked as though she were in the middle of moving some supplies with a clipboard placed under her arm while in her other hand was a pen. Due to the CR-Unit being highly classified equipment, only a few people were allowed access to it. Even an active member such as the AST leader is not spared from these menial chores.

Origami slowly closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I've been on an extremely important mission."

"Important mission? Speaking of which what is that?"

Ryouko raised her eyebrows, pointing to the paper bag that was in Origami's right hand. Origami brought the bag close to her chest, silently opening her mouth.

"This is, a gift that is priceless——At the same time, it is something that has the bitter taste of defeat engraved upon it."

"Ah......? Wh, what do you mean?"

Ryouko's face twisted in confusion, staring at the paper bag Origami was holding. ——Well, there was only the swimsuit that Shidou had bought for her inside.

"I will never forgive <Hermit>."

"Wait a minute, why are you mentioning <Hermit> here?"

And then, as Ryouko questioned with a bead of sweat rolling down her face, a vehicle with a crude design moved closer while dragging a gigantic piece of equipment.

"Oooh. Alright Origami, you'll have to move back for a while."

Saying that, Ryouko waved at Origami. Origami moved in the direction of her hand.

At this moment, she saw the equipment that was brought in. Wrapped up in protective bubble wrap, it was a massive Unit that could be more than five meters long.

"This is?"

After Origami's question, Ryouko used her pen to write on the clipboard as she answered.

"Uh—, it's a new experimental equipment. DW-029, Destruction Armament <White. Licorice>. two sets of the Large-sized laser blade <CleaveLeaf>, two of the 50.5cm magic cannon <Blastalk>, and eight containment units <RootBox> that can store a large amount of weaponry. It is an unusual Unit that is able to bestow upon a single person with the firepower of a section of the AST."

"............"

Origami wordlessly looked up at that oversized armament.

"If I use this, can I defeat <Efreet>?"

"Haa? What are you talking about. You can't use this. Whether it is authority or the skills that you lack. This is an experimental equipment from D.E.M industries. Well, if we look at it based on theory, it truly is an equipment that is sufficient enough to take down a spirit......However I heard that even those highly specialized <Wizards> from D.E.M. are rendered into a vegetative state if they use it for thirty minutes at full power. I'd say that you'd better give up on that thought of using it."

"......This kind of equipment, why is it here?"

"Uh, it looks like the higher ups of D.E.M, probably sent it here intending for it to be used by Mana. Well, it's useless if our dear Mana remains in a deep sleep."

"Is that so."

"Then again......<Efreet> you say? Are you referring to the spirit of flames that appeared five years ago? Why did you mention her name? She has not appeared even once after five years ago since she was identif——"

And suddenly, Ryouko's words were cut off.

Giving Origami an incredulous look, she snapped her fingers as though she recalled something.

"Aaah, that's right. ——So that was <Efreet> huh?"

"......, what do you mean?"

Origami raised her eyebrows slightly, turning her body towards Ryouko. Just like that, she took a step forward, moving closer as though cornering Ryouko. Ryouko seemed to have been shocked by Origami's frightening actions, taking a step backwards and leaning back.

"Wh, why are you doing this suddenly?"

"That doesn't matter, tell me."

"Even if you ask me to tell you......The day before, when you and Mana were battling <Nightmare>, wasn't it <Efreet>? That spirit of flames?"

"——!"

Origami held her breath, drawing even closer to Ryouko.

"How did you know about the appearance of the spirit of flames?"

"How......that's because, I saw the video image......"

"......!"

Widening her eyes. She had never expected that in a place that was so close, she was able to grab a hint on <Efreet>.

"Captain Kusakabe."

"Wh, what is it?"

"I beg of you. Please let me see that image. ——Right now, immediately."

◇

"——That was, really......"

Shidou and Kannazuki went from the resting lounge to the briefing room where they were holding the strategy meeting yesterday. After that, Kannazuki sat on the same seat as yesterday, manipulating the control system on the round table.

"I'm really sorry, the preparations weren't enough. If we were using the Vice-commander's terminal, the image would be clearer."

"No, I don't mind at all......But is that video really stored in here?"

"That's not right. The video itself is not stored within <Fraxinus>. It is stored within the database back at our headquarters."

Due to the unfamiliarity of the term Shidou felt somewhat suspicious——However upon deeper thought he found it to be logical. The <Fraxinus> was an airship. Even if it is powered by a Realizer, it was impossible for it to stay in the air all the time.

"However, doesn't that mean that it is fine as long as there is a network connection? Then wouldn't it be fine even if it wasn't in the Vice-commander's room?"

"Well, even though you can put it that way, the image there is larger and it is more suited to view videos in detail.——Oooh, it's appearing. The video."

The same time Kannazuki said so, the screen placed in the middle of the round table started to play the video.

A corner of the street, it was a video that was taken from the sky. Just that the images shown were dotted in crimson, it looked as though it were oilfields or the mouth of a volcano. It was unimaginable that countless people were living there a few hours ago, a purgatory of flames.

From the speakers, the sounds of a helicopter engine could be heard, as well as the male voice of a reporter. From time to time, the sounds of violent explosions were mixed in, causing the images to shake slightly.

"......Uu."

Shidou involuntarily frowned. It was a horrifying scene that was out of his expectations. The conflagration which had occurred where he had stayed, although he did remember that such an incident happened, he didn't expect it to be so bad.

"——Well then, it's almost time."

And then, Kannazuki who had been viewing the image with Shidou spoke with a calm voice.

The helicopter turned around, gradually lowering in altitude. At the same time the image was zoomed in, becoming blurry. After an instant, the focus was readjusted.

"——, That is."

And in the next instant, looking at the object near the edge of the screen, Shidou's throat trembled.

In the heart of the street. It was different from the rest of the place, the house that should have been there was burnt to ashes, in that location that looked like barren ground, a familiar figure can be seen.

It was originally a video from a long time ago, coupled with rough pixelation from the distance, unsteady image from being taken in mid-air and multiple negative factors, it caused the image to be extremely bad. However, Shidou felt that he was not mistaken.

"Kotori......"

That's right. Over there was Kotori wearing her Astral Dress, the same as he had witnessed the day before at Raizen High School.

At her feet, a small shadow collapsed there. Eyebrows locked, he focused on the shaking images.

"That is——me......?"

And then.

"————Eh?"

Shidou's lungs contracted, making a short and soft sound.

That, was located in front of Shidou and Kotori. No——existing is probably a better word to describe it.

In front of the two, [Something] existed.

To ordinary people, that could be just the noise that appeared in the video.

However, that's not right. That was. That shadow was——

"......"

Instantly, Shidou used his hands to hold his head, kneeling down on the spot.

The instant he saw that, the stabbing pain that had been within Shidou's head expanded, transforming into intense pain and assaulted him.

"Shidou-kun? What's wrong?"

Kannazuki asked. However Shidou did not reply him as he just stared at the image——at the visual noise that was positioned in front of the young Kotori and Shidou and spoke.

"Who——exactly......, are you, you are......"

"By who......may I ask which one are you talking about?"

"This——one. The one in front of me, and Kotori......"

Kannazuki went into deep thought. Looking at him, Shidou realized for the first time.

——Why, did he treat the noise-like shadow as a person.

At the very least, it was inferred from his use of the word [Who].

"Ah——"

After thinking about it, the pain assaulting Shidou's head reached its peak——Shidou lost consciousness.

◇

"............"

Origami, who had unreasonably dragged Ryouko who was in the midst of working into the briefing room, looked at the image on the screen and went speechless.

The video's quality was extremely bad. The camera's position was too far for the fine details to be taken down. Furthermore, the beginning and ending of the recording did not match, it could possibly have been damaged in the midst of recording, there was only a few minutes left.

However, that was enough for Origami.

Five years ago. The figure that she saw with her blurred vision. The day before. The figure that she saw with her fading consciousness.

That hated face of her enemy, she was hoping to properly view it for the first time.

Rewinding the video to the beginning and replaying it, pausing it. She enlarged <Efreet>'s face.

And then——Origami's doubts were changed to affirmations.

Five years ago, the spirit of flames that she had been searching for all this time. ——Her, face.

"Itsuka......Kotori."

A spirit, that was formerly Itsuka Shidou's sister.