Chapter Seven: Rather Than a Date, Make Her Blush!

Walking down the corridor that seemed straight out of a movie set, Su Mo quickly followed behind Murasame Reine to the very end. Here, set into the side wall, was a small electronic panel door. As they stopped before it, the panel emitted a cheerful chime, and the door slid open smoothly.

Stepping through, Su Mo was confronted with a scene that, despite all his mental preparation, made his eyes widen and his face betray genuine shock.

In a single phrase, it could be described as a ship's bridge. From the main entrance, a broad, circular floor stretched out, and at its center stood what was unmistakably the captain's chair. Staircases extended to either side, leading down to a complex control console below. On each side of this console was a long row of seats, each one occupied. All those seated were busy at their stations, heads bowed, fingers flying over controls, while the muted glow from various monitors painted the room in hues of blue and green—a scene fit for the finest science fiction epic.

Lifting his gaze to the very front of the hall, Su Mo saw a tall man standing beside the captain’s chair. He had wavy golden hair, a strikingly Western face, and an almost unreal handsomeness, as if he’d stepped right out of a romance novel—a character who looked notably delicate.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kyohei Kamunazuki, the vice-commander here. Welcome to Ratatoskr," he declared, bowing with the grace of a butler, sweeping his fringe aside with an air of supreme confidence.

As Su Mo hesitated, not quite sure how to respond, the command chair, previously turned away, began to rotate slowly with a low hum.

"Welcome to Ratatoskr!"

Seated in the command chair was a rather adorable young girl, draped in a bright red military uniform. Her voice was charmingly sweet as she revealed her face to Su Mo.

Su Mo’s eyes widened as he looked at the girl before him.

"Kurumi?"

The girl in front of him was none other than his younger sister, Kotori Itsuka. With her petite frame, round chestnut eyes, and a lollipop in her mouth, she was unmistakable. Su Mo also noticed that the white ribbon she usually wore had been replaced by a black one.

So she was in Commander Mode now.

In the anime, Kotori suffered from a kind of split personality: when she wore a white ribbon, she was the cute little sister; when she donned the black one, she became the brave and decisive commander. Unlike typical dissociative identity disorder, her two personalities shared all their memories—an unusual phenomenon.

Kotori abruptly spun around as if to surprise Su Mo, but was taken aback to see him standing there with an expressionless face. Slightly annoyed, she demanded, "Aren’t you even a little surprised to see your adorable little sister here?"

Surprised? I’ve known all along.

But to play along, Su Mo put on a weary expression. "No, I’m shocked, honestly. It’s just that after everything I’ve been through today, I’m completely numb now."

Kotori nodded sympathetically, as if she truly understood. Any normal person would have broken down long ago after experiencing all that Su Mo had.

Despite his apparent exhaustion, Su Mo showed no other signs of distress. Truly, he was worthy of being Kotori’s beloved big brother.

"Aren’t you curious about where this place is, or why I brought you here?" Kotori asked, tossing away the empty lollipop stick.

Kyohei Kamunazuki, who had been standing nearby, immediately dove forward, reverently scooping the stick into his hands as if it were a sacred relic, treasuring it with almost religious fervor. Given Kotori’s utter lack of interest in him, it was clear he was nothing more than another hopeless devotee in this world.

In response to Kotori’s question, Su Mo shook his head. "On the contrary, I am curious. But I trust you, my dear sister, will explain everything to your big brother, won’t you?"

He placed special emphasis on the last two words, a playful smile flickering across his face, his eyes glinting with mischief from beneath his bangs. Even in Commander Mode, Kotori found herself cowed by her brother’s authority. Blushing slightly at the memory of certain embarrassing incidents, she forced herself to cough and regain her composure. "Of course. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have told you everything."

"But before that, can you answer me this? Why did you leave the school after the earthquake warning sounded? Don’t you know how dangerous that was? If you hadn’t been lucky, you’d have died dozens of times over!" Kotori suddenly slapped the desk before her and shot to her feet, her voice reverberating with anger and concern for Su Mo's safety.

"Well... that is..." Su Mo stammered, thinking he couldn’t possibly say he was trying to improve a Spirit’s favorability. Luckily, he’d already prepared an excuse and repeated the one he’d used for Shiori. "I saw on my phone that your location was near the family restaurant, so I rushed out to look for you, worried you might be in danger. Shiori was so anxious she nearly cried!"

Kotori’s expression went blank for a moment—touched and exasperated at once. "So that’s what happened. Just what kind of idiot do you take me for, you blockhead of a brother? If something serious had happened, I’d have gone straight to the shelter! But since you were so worried about me, I’ll let it go this time."

"Now, let me show you—cut the filters!"

At her command, the previously dim bridge was suddenly flooded with light, as if the ceiling’s shrouds had been whisked away. But instead of a ceiling, Su Mo was confronted with a breathtaking panorama: clouds drifting by, and beneath his feet, a bottomless sky stretching out over the entire city of Tenguu. From above, the whole metropolis was laid out before him.

"This is... incredible," Su Mo murmured. Seeing it in anime was one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was entirely different. He felt as if he were standing on a glass bridge, and if not for the solid sensation beneath his feet, he would have worried about falling.

"We are currently fifteen thousand meters above Tenguu City, directly above the family restaurant. That’s why your phone’s locator showed me near the restaurant." Kotori explained, then gestured toward the vessel. "The ship you’re on is the aerial warship 'Fraxinus,' which serves as the headquarters for our organization, Ratatoskr."

"I see," Su Mo nodded, then turned to Kotori. "So why did you bring me here?"

"If I hadn’t saved you, you would have been killed by that Spirit," Kotori muttered, then continued, "As you saw today, that girl in the princess dress with purple hair is a Spirit. The so-called 'space quake' isn’t a natural phenomenon—it’s caused by Spirits."

"Our organization, Ratatoskr, is a secret group dedicated to communicating with Spirits and resolving the disasters caused by space quakes through peaceful means."

"So..." Su Mo began.

"So we chose you!" Kotori cut him off unceremoniously. "Every time a Spirit appears, a space quake follows. The AST, the anti-Spirit team, wants to kill Spirits to eliminate the threat, but Spirits are overwhelmingly powerful—current methods can’t harm them. That’s why Ratatoskr advocates dialogue and peaceful solutions."

In short, there are only two ways to deal with Spirits at present. The first is overwhelming force, but since Spirits possess extraordinary combat abilities, this is nearly impossible.

The second method—

Date them. Make them blush!