An hour had passed since Shidou unwittingly lost sight of her.

As he had habitually done in the past, he wasn't able to take the spirit down and capture her. In the end, he had let her escape and thus all the AST members returned back to their garrison.

"......"

However......for some reason Origami felt a subtle hint of uneasiness.

Normally when a spirit escaped it meant that the spirit departed for the other dimension. However, nobody witnessed the moment the physical body of the spirit <Diva> dived into the void.

After unleashing a terrifying scream, she took advantage of the time when everyone was shocked into a state of cowardice and escaped without a trace. Because there wasn't an ensuing shock wave, people thought she had escaped into the other dimension......

However, Origami lightly shook her head and narrowed her eyes.

There was a far more pressing matter at hand.

After recovering from the fatigue that followed the removal of the territory, Origami slowly moved towards Jessica who was chatting with her subordinates.

"What were you trying to do?"

Jessica raised an eyebrow and turned around towards Origami.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act dumb. Why did you want to attack Shidou back then?"

"Ara, so you guys knew about that?"

"Answer me quickly."

After Origami pressed the issue, Jessica greatly shrugged her shoulders.

"I just wanted to protect him since there was a normal person involved in the battlefield, that's all. Is there something wrong with that?"

"......"

Origami's sharp stare towards Jessica possessed a body piercing effect. She clearly knew this was a lie. There was no way Origami could have falsely read her actions at that time.

In fact, Jessica didn't count on Origami believing her words. However, she knew that Origami would be unable to pursue her interrogation if she said something along those lines. After all, there was absolutely no proof to confirm that Jessica had wanted to attack Shidou.

"That's all I have to say so get lost already. We are very busy."

Jessica replied in a pretentious tone. However, Origami continued on.

"Does it have something to do with the special mission you guys were assigned?"

"......"

After Origami spoke, Jessica and her subordinates' expressions wavered a bit.

Following that, she unhappily smacked her lips and suddenly grabbed Origami's bangs.

"Guh......"

"——You bitch. Your days will be numbered if you try get smart with me."

Once she finished speaking, she tossed Origami aside. Due to her being partially fatigued still, Origami landing directly on her butt as she tumbled to the ground. Jessica's subordinates then proceeded to scoff at her.

"What are you guys doing!?"

Having noticed the disturbance, Ryouko hurriedly rushed over.

Jessica pretended to know nothing, redirected herself elsewhere, and left with her subordinates.

"Are you okay Origami?"

"......I'm fine."

After Origami grabbed Ryouko's hand and propped herself up, she grimaced at Jessica's gradually fading figure from behind.

"Why do we have to get up this early in the morning......"

Caught between Tohka and Origami, like a criminal being escorted, Shidou pressed forward while constantly yawning due to his drowsiness.

Currently it was September 9th, the second day after encountering the spirit <Diva>.

After that, <Fraxinus> decided to hold a meeting over the spirit's unexplainable drop in affection. Either way, Shidou wouldn't have to go to school tomorrow since he was also requested to participate in a meeting that was supposed to go late into the night......

Shidou rubbed his droughty eyes as he yawned once again.

That's right, Ai called him in the morning. Today marks the beginning of the inter-school Tenou festival committee so please come! He was informed in this manner.

"Hey, you're getting too close to Shidou. Back off a bit!"

"You're the one who should be backing off. Even Shidou has said your body odor is intolerable."

"W-What did you say!?"

On his right was Tohka and on his left was Origami. Their voices played one after the other, which constantly irritated the sleep deprived Shidou.

"Tohka......Origami, could you guys keep it down......it's giving me a headache."

"That's right, quiet down Tobiichi Origami! Shidou is saying you're being too loud!"

"It's the sound of your breathing and heartbeat that's a pain on the ears. They should be stopped immediately."

"As I said......"

Shidou let out a deep sigh.

Incidentally, those who were currently on their way to the conference meeting included Shidou, Tohka, and Origami. On the other hand, Ai, Mai,and Mii, who were also committee members, weren't coming. It was said that the three of them had scheduled a band performance on stage during the first day of the Tenou festival. Because of their practice, they were unable to attend the meeting.

No worries no worries, we already found a suitable agent. After being notified in this manner, they headed off towards the agreed upon assembly point. On their way, they noticed Tohka and Origami who both appeared to be like cats fighting over territory.

Fortuitously, as Shidou passed the towering stone wall while his head was still ringing, he saw the school which was designated as the gathering location for the conference.

The school had a stately red brick gate with an iron latticed fence extending from both sides of it. Verdant branches bore through the gaps of the lattice structure.

To add to that, there was a perfectly straight paved brick path and lying just beyond that was the majestic sight of the castle-like school. The presence of students during the weekend was most likely due to group activities and preparation for the Tenou festival.

The Rindouji Private Academy for Girls contained the daughters of many prestigious individuals. It was a famous and outstanding school within the Tenguu district.

Suddenly, the two girls ceased their constant bickering upon noticing the school. On his right, Tohka stared at the school in fascination.

"Ooo......Shidou, this is quite impressive. Is it a school as well?"

"Yes, it appears to be. Well, let's go in and check it out first."

"Ok!"

"......"

Tohka's reply was full of vigor while Origami on the other hand nodded silently.

After Shidou and the girls displayed their student IDs to the security guard, they set out towards the interior of the campus. After that, they entered the school through the visitor's entrance and picked up a visitor's pass before heading off towards the designated location.

"The second conference room, is it here?"

He proceeded to open the door. Several students, each wearing a different school uniform, were already gathered inside the room. There was still some time before the start of the meeting. Inside was a long table with the nameplates of various schools already placed on top of it. There were also quite a few students conversing away from their seats.

With that said, Shidou couldn't have known anyone considering he just recently assumed his post as a committee member yesterday. He swiftly found his seat and sat down.

Soon after, a person knocked on the conference room door.

"Hmm?"

After Shidou turned his neck, he noticed that the other students waiting in room also looked over.

"W-What is going on......"

Seeing everyone's reaction, he couldn't help but tense up. Most likely someone was about to come in.

However, a dispirited yet warm voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Well then, I'll be coming in now."

Upon hearing that statement, the door slowly opened.

A group of girls wearing light blue sailor uniforms calmly entered.

Afterwards, the girls formed two rows and lowered their heads, resembling a mass welcoming for distinguished individuals who went through great lengths to arrive.

Just as Shidou went into a daze, a student walked in between the two rows of girls with the leisureliness of an empress.

Her long hair was separated into multiple locks. Under the lighting, her fine hair emitted a radiant violet hue. She also possessed dazzling silver pupils. Although she wore the same sailor uniform as the girls around her, her presence was overwhelming, making her curved silhouette clearly stand out.

"Wh......"

"......!"

After seeing her appearance, Shidou and Origami could not help but gasp.

She was indeed a beauty. If a gorgeous girl like her were to be encountered on the streets, there would definitely be some people who would turn around to take a second glance at her.

Nevertheless, that wasn't the case here.

"——Hello everyone, we are pleased to have you all here."

The girl spoke with a languid intonation. She lowered her head as she greeted the other students.

After hearing her voice, Shidou was confident on a certain matter.

That girl......

"I'm the head of the Tenou festival committee for The Rindouji Private Academy for Girls, Izayoi Miku."

It was the spirit Shidou came across yesterday——<Diva>.

"Well then, let's head out. Everyone, please follow me."

After her long drawn voice was broadcasted over from the loudspeakers located on the bridge of the <Fraxinus>, a lively accompaniment and loud cheering could be heard.

At the moment, there was a girl dancing and singing while wearing a dress containing a myriad of laces being displayed on the main monitor at the front of the bridge. In front of her there seemed to be a dense carpet of purple glow sticks.

The image was quite shoddy. No matter how you looked at it, it did not appear to be an officially sold concert DVD. However, this was quite a common practice. After all, Nakatsugawa probably went through a lot of trouble to get ahold of this prohibited secret recording.

"......"

Standing by the captain's seat, Shidou stared at the video.

To be precise, at the very center of the screen was a girl merrily dancing about while singing in a soothing voice.

She was without a doubt the Rindouji student he had seen yesterday——the spirit known as <Diva>.

"Izayoi Miku......Well, I never would have thought she'd be a spirit."

At Shidou's side——Kotori muttered as she sat in the captain's seat while viewing the recording.

"You know Izayoi Miku?"

"I've heard of her before. Other than this, I've heard her sing a couple advertisement tunes, drama show theme songs, things of that nature."

"I-I see......"

Shidou scratched his cheeks. It seems what Tonomachi said was true.

However, Kotori completely disregarded Shidou's movements as she gazed towards the individual reports next to her with a sour expression.

"......Her first public performance was over half a year ago. Her splendid voice was known as the Anesthetic Sound. With her overwhelming singing capabilities, a number of her super-popular tracks were published......yet this mysterious idol never appeared on television or magazines.....can a person even be considered an idol like this?"

After reading till this point, Kotori placed her hand on her forehead and sighed.

"A spirit becoming an idol......furthermore, she decided to integrate into society starting at least half a year ago? While also engaging in these activities? Ha, she pales in comparison to Kurumi!"

As soon as Kotori mentioned Kurumi's name, Shidou's cheeks twitched. In the past, she was a spirit who enrolled in Shidou's class under a human disguise.

However, right now there exists an option that wasn't present back then.

"I wonder, is she a human who received spirit powers from <Phantom> like you Kotori?"

"......Hmm."

Upon hearing Shidou's statement, Kotori raised her brow.

"There's no denying this possibility. If it really was the case, then that would explain why she would station herself in this world.——However, that wouldn't explain yesterday's spacequake."

"Ah......"

After it was pointed out to him, Shidou's eyes widened.

Spacequakes referred the repercussions caused when spirits appeared within this world. Although there were spirits like Kurumi who were capable of causing a spacequake whenever they wanted......Miku on the other hand, who had been living on this side ever since, didn't adhere this sort of reasoning.

Shidou scratched the back of his head as he groaned.

Shidou was unsure of his own presumptions from the start so after being denied like this he had to start from scratch again.

Furthermore.....there was a more pressing matter at hand.

"In the end, we still don't know why her affection levels dropped so rapidly......"

Indeed, no conclusions were drawn from the meeting that lasted all night.

However, Kotori lightly shook her head upon seeing Shidou's anxiousness.

"Actually, regarding this problem, even though we can't guarantee this we did come up with a hypothesis."

"Eh? What would that be?"

"Yes, we weren't able to catch this as we examined the monitor yesterday, but as soon as we received reports about <Diva> being Izayoi Miku today, we were pretty much able to confirm this."

"S-So what is the reason behind it?"

After Shidou questioned her closely, Kotori made a signal with her fingers to tell Shidou to calm down.

"I'll explain in sequence.——Reine."

"......Ok, take a look at this."

After that, Reine began explaining after taking a seat towards Kotori's left. The images displayed on the main monitor featured Miku as she was singing and a diagram. As the music played, Nakatsugawa moved to the beat and couldn't resist uttering along, but he was immediately silenced after Kotori glared at him.

Shidou wryly smiled at this and then directed his gaze towards the diagram.

"This is?"

"......This diagram shows Miku's mental state from yesterday. Starting from the center was when you began conversing with her."

After taking a glance at the segment she mentioned......the line took a steep dive akin to a rollercoaster drop. Towards the end, the calibrated markings had completely disappeared.

"......This is worse than I imagined. Who knew I was this much of a nuisance."

"......Well, ignore that aspect for now. Take a look at what happened afterwards."

Following Reine's instructions, he took a look at the latter stages of the diagram. Once the decline of her affection reached its end, the line suddenly started to rise.

"This is......"

"......This was when the AST made their appearance."

"Then what happened when at the peak of the diagram?"

"That was when she encountered Tobiichi Origami."

"T-Then......that means."

Shidou was currently deep in thought. Kotori took the candy out from her mouth and pointed it towards the lower part of the bridge.

"Nakatsugawa."

After being called upon, Nakatsugawa stood straight up with lightning fast speed.

"Yes! Regarding the revolutionary idol who sprung onto stage like a comet? Izayoi Miku-tan, she never reveals her true identity in front of people. Even her idol events only consists of regularly published CDs and invitations to her secret performances are only sent to a small portion of her fan base.......Clearly all of Japan thinks of her as one big celebrity. However, only a select few have ever seen her appearance. It's at the point where——people have started to doubt whether or not she's even real."

"Haaa......sounds very thoroughly done."

"It's not just whether or not it was thoroughly done. In this day and age of information technology, not even one picture of her appearance exists? It's already quite strange with this alone. Do you guys know how much effort I spent trying to get this recording of her performance?"

Nakatsugawa vigorously stated. Shidou awkwardly ruffled his cheeks.

"Nevertheless, isn't she an idol? Why would she want to avoid being seen by other people......"

"This information was found on the web......it is said that Miku-tan detests males to point where even holding hands with them becomes unbearable. The secret performance that I previously mentioned was limited to only female fans."

"Only female fans......?"

After Shidou voiced his suspicions, Nakatsugawa continued on enthusiastically even though he was running out of breath.

"Yes, and according to rumors, she would bring female fans that she fancied back with her to enjoy."

"C-Could she be......"

"Yes, she's——"

Kotori placed the lollipop back in her mouth and positioned her finger upright.

"Izayoi Miku——might be into girls, otherwise known as yuri."

"......Wh——."

Shidou voiced out in despair.

He did not intend to criticize the other person's sexual orientation. Shidou was already a high school sophomore and wouldn't childishly reject others blindly just because they didn't see eye to eye. He understood that love existed in various forms in this world.

However, it would be a disaster if a spirit was only interested into girls, an utter disaster indeed.

The reason for this is fairly simple. The actions of Shidou and <Fraxinus> were meant to seal a spirit's powers, rendering them into a safe state. Not only did this prevent spacequakes but it also protected the spirits.

As a result, they needed Shidou's powers——the power of sealing spirit powers through kissing.

Furthermore, there was no significance behind just lip to lip contact. At the very least, the affection levels of the spirits had to be raised to a point where they would not reject a kiss in order for it to work.

"That means there's nothing left we can do......!"

Shidou pessimistically stated. Up till now, he had encountered many spirits who were hard to deal with. However, nothing could be done if the reason he was being rejected was from a physiology standpoint.

Nevertheless, Kotori was taken aback as her eyes lit up after noticing Shidou's reaction.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you a member of the Tenou Festival committee? Then you should have the opportunity to engage Miku in conversation right?"

"Even so, doesn't Miku hold zero interest in men?"

"It's more accurate to say that she finds them extremely annoying rather than holding no interest."

"Isn't that even more detrimental!?"

Seeing Shidou shout like this, Kotori leisurely shrugged.

"You think I didn't contemplate over this when I stated my thoughts? The countermeasures have already been devised."

"Countermeasures......?"

Kotori nodded as well snapped her fingers. Next, Kannazuki came out of nowhere......in addition he looked completely soaked.

"Kannazuki-san......? Why are you drenched? Plus there's a fish scent in here as well."

"Oh that, I was just going out for a quick swim."

Kannazuki laughed heartily while being unconcerned with this matter. Shidou ruffled his cheeks as he spoke.

"Well then, the countermeasure is......"

"This!"

The one who responded was Kannazuki. He extended his hand that was originally kept behind his back this whole time right in front of Shidou's line of sight.

"......"

Upon seeing what was held in his hand, Shidou froze like an ice sculpture.

Within Kannazuki's hand was the usual school uniform for Raizen High School where Shidou goes to.

——However, it was the girl's version.

At first Shidou was still thinking "Hey, Kannazuki-san always seems eager to get started......", however he very quickly detected something was amiss. The school uniform was brand new——furthermore the dimensions were quite large.

Indeed, the size would be perfect for a girl around the same height as Shidou.

"......Ummm."

Shidou for some reason had an ominous premonition about this and took a step back unconsciously. However, he bumped into something on the way back.

Immediately after, Shidou's hands were restrained. Turning around, he noticed that it was <Tired Too Early> Kawagoe and <President> Mikimoto.

"Hey......W-What are you guys doing.......? H-Hurry up and release me!"

Shidou broke out in a cold sweat as he inquired. This time in front of him——right besides Kannazuki and heading towards to him was <Straw Doll> Shiizaki with various cosmetic tools held between each of her fingers like they were weapons meant for throwing as well as <On Probation> Minowa holding onto a myriad of wigs.

"W-What is that!?"

He could not help but yell out. However, Kannazuki gave no considerations to Shidou's frantic shouting and inched closer to him with the other two guys.

"No worries, there's no need to be afraid. At first you'll feel a slightly cool sensation down there but very soon that'll change into a pleasant feeling. I learned from personal experience from my senior so there's no need for wariness."

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth twisted up.

"K-Kotori......?"

Shidou look towards Kotori. His manner of speaking sounded like a battered battalion begging for mercy.

Afterwards, Kotori smiled in a profoundly cute fashion that resembled a resplendent sunshine.

"I wish you good luck——Onee-chan."

Without any hesitation, she made her death sentence proclamation as she gave him the thumbs up.

Three hours later.

"......W-Who is this!?"

Shidou couldn't refrain from shouting after looking into the mirror.

It couldn't be helped in this situation. After all, he saw a girl he had never seen before reflected off the mirror.

His hair was dotted with lovely hair accessories and his hair was extended to the point where it could even cover his back. A light layer of foundation was added to his face, mascara and an eyelash curler were used to modify his eyes, and cherry lipstick was applied to his lips. There was no way anyone would be able to recognize that he was a guy.

The chest portion was propped up with breast pads and a bra was worn on top of that. His arm and leg hairs were removed completely, turning his skin silky smooth.

He was a bit tall for a girl but Shidou's original appearance did lean slightly on the feminine side. If no one were to point out he was a disguised as a girl, there was no way anyone could see through it. Actually, even if it was pointed out they would most likely just brush it off as a joke.

At the very least, no one should be able to figure out that she is indeed Shidou at first glance.

"Ooo, how unexpectedly fitting."

Kotori's eye opened wide in surprise as she spoke. Shidou on the other hand grudgingly glared at Kotori.

"......You bastard, I won't forget this!"

"My my, your manner of speech is quite rude for a girl. Lastly, attach this on your body."

"Huh?"

Shidou raised his brow. Kotori handed him something similar to a Band-Aid.

"Put this in your throat."

"What......? Like this?"

He placed it in his throat as instructed. Then,

"Now what's with......w-what happened to my voice!?"

Shidou unwittingly pressed against his throat in confusion.

Immediately after sticking on the strip, Shidou's voice became that of a cute girl.

"What do you think? It's a high performance voice modifier created from using the most sophisticated <Ratatoskr> technology. By adjusting the numerical values, you could even have a master detective's voice."

"What in the world would I use that for?!"

"Well, either way it turned out pretty satisfactory in the end. With that said, no one should be able to mistaken Shidou for a boy."

As Kotori praised herself, the other members of the crew began to nod.

"Ara, this is really a job well done. Looking cute there Shidou-kun."

"How detestable, he's clearly a boy yet the makeup suits him so well. Is it because he's young......?"

"Hahaha, I really want to take you in as my daughter-in-law."

"Hey hey, would you do it for fifty thousand yen?"

"This really was beyond my expectations Shidou-kun. Next time I'll have to introduce you to a couple of good stores. What, it's nothing be to getting anxious over. The employees there are your colleagues and they're very friendly."

Thump, Thump! After Kotori knocked on the heads of Mikimoto and Kannazuki, she glanced at the main monitor which had Izayoi Miku displayed on it.

"Well then, the rest is up to whether or not Miku takes a liking to Shidou......Shidou, when's the next time you guys will meet?"

"Eh? Hmmm......"

Shidou counted off the days with his fingers.

"It should be next Monday. After school they'll begin preparing for a meeting, so I should be able to at the time......"

"I see, hmmm......there's nothing we can do if she won't be available till then."

Immediately after, Kotori quickly spun back around and pointed towards Shidou and the ship's crew.

"Starting tomorrow, spend the entire day training Shidou so he can single-handedly take on the role of a girl! Shiizaki, Kawagoe, teach him how to put on makeup. Also, make sure he is imbued with the speech patterns of a girl! On Monday our plan will be officially put into motion."

She announced this loudly to the others.

After Shidou took a deep sigh, he quietly muttered "Understood."

The familiar chime signifying the end of class shook Shidou's eardrums.

It usually symbolized the release from lessons, but right now for Shidou it was a warning sound on the same rank as the spacequake alarm.

That was because today was September 11th, Monday.

From now on the students from various schools would enter into preparations for the Tenou festival—and the executive committee had to go to the venue in Tenguu Square to do a check of the area.

"—Well, it's time. Hurry up and get ready."

From the intercom equipped on his right ear, Kotori's voice could be heard.

"...Got it."

Shidou slowly stood up from his chair, and walked towards the lockers.

"Nu? Shidou, where are you going? Aren't we going to check on the Tenou festival venue?"

Finding Shidou's actions to be abnormal, Tohka called out.

"Ahh... gimme a moment. Go ahead and prepare."

"Mu? O-okay..."

Tohka seemed confused, but for the moment nodded, and watched Shidou's back disappear.

In the same way, Origami had been staring at him, but he acted as if he didn't notice and left the classroom, retrieving a large bag out of the lockers and walked towards the depth of the school.

"It'll probably be fine here."

He then stepped into the mens restroom in the furthest depths of the school, locked himself into a stall, and opened the bag that had been slung over his shoulder.

Inside was a neatly folded girls' uniform. ...'If anyone saw me like this then my life will really be over', thinking something like that, he took it out, and quickly started changing. By the way, in order to hide his body's shape slightly better it was a cardigan. It was a bit hot but his back and stomach couldn't be changed.

He then took out a mirror, and utilizing the make-up skills that were drilled into him the whole day yesterday, he decorated his face.

Finally, he put on the wig and the voice changer, and the transformation was complete.

"Mm... something like this huh."

"Shidou, your tone."

"...Something like this?"

Reminded by Kotori, he replied with a female tone. ...For some reason he felt like he wanted to die.

However, it was not good to be negative. Without self confidence, something that could be accomplished could even become impossible.

Shidou stuffed the clothes that he had been wearing until then into the bag, and slinging the bag on his back, opened the door to the stall.

Then, he noticed that there was a person by the urinals. It was Tonomachi.

"Hey, Tonomachi."

He gave a light greeting like always while he passed behind Tonomachi.

"Hey... huh?"

However, seeing Tonomachi's reaction, Shidou let out an 'ah' in a small voice.

"W-who... are you? Wh-why are you in the guys restroom..."

Tonomachi stuttered, and immediately blushed and turned his back to Shidou.

"Ah, w-well... Ohohohohoho"

Excusing himself with a laugh, Shidou dashed out of there at full speed.

"Why did he have to go to such an out of place restroom today of all days...!"

Confirming that Tonomachi wasn't chasing after him, Shidou immediately slowed down. ...Running caused his skirt to flap, and somehow that fe-->>

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