Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

"So... you actually brought her back with you?"

At the Itsuka household, a crimson-haired beauty slumped over the table without a shred of elegance.

Her dead-fish eyes stared at her online acquaintance—Nagami—who now sat beside none other than the Third Spirit herself, Tokisaki Kurumi, gracefully smiling.

From beneath Kurumi's feet, a shadow as black as ink crept out, stretching toward Nagami until it looked like their shadows were merged into one.

"She had no choice," Nagami explained. "The output of her ability "City of Devouring Time" has a limit.

–Even if I dropped all restrictions and let her freely absorb time, it would still take ages to get through 520 years' worth."

Which meant…

For the foreseeable future, Kurumi would be stuck to him like a literal shadow.

Nagami turned to the girl sitting beside him, eyes dull like Kotori's.

"Seriously? This is the girl who wants to spend my entire life with me?"

"This Kurumi is just... lame...."

"…"

Kurumi's smile froze mid-expression.

She could only grit her teeth and endure Nagami's mockery.

She hadn't realized Zafkiel had a limit on how fast it could absorb time.

Sure, she had killed tens of thousands over the years—but they were all carefully selected scum and criminals.

She had never experienced a situation where she could go all out with unfiltered time absorption.

"…Are these two ladies also Spirits?"

Kurumi's eyes scanned between Yuzuriha Inori and Itsuka Kotori.

She could sense the sealed Spirit energy in Kotori—and as for the pink-haired girl named Inori, she looked harmless, but Kurumi's Spirit instincts told her she wasn't entirely human either.

Probably someone from another world, just like Nagami.

"You're not even trying to change the subject subtly."

Nagami's disdainful voice echoed in her ear again.

Kurumi clenched her tiny fist.

She hadn't been around him for long, but she'd already figured out his personality.

Annoying and shameless.

"Aww~ Husband, how could you say that~?" Kurumi pouted, wrapping her arms tightly around his. Her voice was soft, flirtatious, and sweet like syrup.

Nagami's weakness was painfully obvious.

And Kurumi? She was a professional when it came to dealing with perverts.

That sparkling ruby-red eye, the soft, bouncy feeling of her arms pressed into him—it was a perfect trap.

Nagami's expression instantly lost its mocking edge.

"Pervert!... and what's with you calling me that!?"

Kotori's lollipop froze halfway to her mouth.

She stared at them in disbelief.

Inori, however, didn't react.

She simply tilted her head, opened her pink lips, and calmly ate the snack Nagami handed her.

With her personality, a love triangle—or any kind of drama—was unlikely.

Or maybe... she wasn't even sure if Kurumi's words were meant to be a joke.

"It was love at first sight~" Kurumi tightened her grip on Nagami's arm and flashed Kotori a radiant, innocent smile.

"…Heh."

Kotori bit down hard on what was left of her candy.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that."

Nagami quickly snatched the new lollipop Kotori pulled from her skirt pocket.

Holding it like a sword, he pointed it at her.

"Think of it this way—if you suddenly found a mobile treasure chest that let you withdraw as much as you want, wouldn't you fall in love with it too?"

"And money can't buy time."

With that, he tossed the lollipop into his mouth—completely exposing Kurumi's true motive while Kotori looked like she was about to snap.

"Tsk!"

Kotori clicked her tongue in annoyance.

As dumb as Nagami's analogy sounded, it instantly made the situation crystal clear.

"By the way, where are Shidou and the other two Spirits? It's pretty late. Shouldn't they be back by now?"

Of course, Nagami wasn't asking because he wanted to have tea with Shidou.

His target was the Spirits—he wanted to analyze their abilities.

A faint glow of pure violet occasionally flickered in his black eyes.

Deep within, a six-pointed star slowly rotated.

Keeping Kurumi around wasn't just about letting her absorb time—Nagami was studying her powers in detail.

If needed, he could even ask her to give a live demonstration.

After all, time-based abilities were top-tier no matter which world you were in.

Unfortunately, analysis was incredibly slow.

"They're not coming back tonight," Kotori said. "I sent them to a hot spring trip while I worked on preparing your new identities."

"Spoken like a true little sister. But aren't you worried Mio Takamiya will tear you apart for playing wingman like that?"

Originally, Mio's plan was for Shidou was for him to absorb each Spirit's core one by one, gaining immortality and ultimately becoming her eternal lover.

But this move…

Was basically her helping put a shiny green hat on herself.

And not just one.

A collection.

What was worse?

She even disguised herself as Reine Murasame and personally helped Shidou romance the other Spirits as part of Ratatoskr.

'Seriously, what the hell kind of masochistic, self-cucking spiritual discipline is that!?'

"Uh…"

Kotori's expression stiffened instantly.

Her crimson eyes flickered with troubled thoughts, and after seeing Nagami's teasing, half-smiling face, she went completely silent.

"Hehe~ I just know Nagami Onii-chan will help me! You are my distant cousin, after all~"

Nagami blinked in surprise as Kotori swapped her usual black hair ribbon for a white one.

Half her body leaned into his chest as she entered her "little sister mode," her voice suddenly becoming soft, syrupy, and adorably clingy.

"Hmm↗↘↗↘~"

Nagami gently patted her head, looking oddly proud.

"You really did inherit that shameless spirit from my dear little Lumine…"

"Ehehe~"

Kotori tilted her head cutely and pressed one hand against her temple, striking the perfect "moe" pose.

Of course, she got the message behind Nagami's teasing—he was definitely going to help her. She had no doubt about that.

"Wait a second! Husband, did you just say Mio Takamiya?"

Kurumi's instincts flared up instantly at the mention of the First Spirit.

Any intel related to Mio always triggered her full attention.

"Oh, that. Yeah, it's quite a tragic and dramatic tale, honestly."

'I mean, how can you not shed a tear for someone with such a strict code of self-cuckoldry?'

As Nagami began explaining the story to Kurumi, Kotori, now back in "good girl mode," quietly slipped into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

"...And that, in short, is why Mio created the Spirits and what her true objective has been all along."

The soft, smooth texture of her fingertips felt like silk beneath his touch, and her subtle feminine scent wafted gently through the air.

Nagami absentmindedly played with Kurumi's delicate hands—hands so perfect that certain hand-fetishists would go "hard" on the spot.

But Kurumi, despite the sudden burst of physical affection, didn't seem to mind.

She simply bit her lip softly, her expression unusually complex.

To think that the Spirit she'd been devoting her entire existence to destroying… was actually just a girl hopelessly in love, willing to do anything for it.

And that all Spirits were born from such a ridiculous, almost laughable reason...

How absurd.

Still, even after hearing the truth, Kurumi's resolve remained unshaken.

She would kill Mio.

That hadn't changed.

"Oh right, Kurumi—if I remember correctly, weren't you looking for the whereabouts of the Second Spirit?"

Nagami asked the question casually as he wrapped his arm around her soft shoulders, as if he hadn't noticed the turmoil swirling in her heart.

Of course, he had.

But more importantly…

He wanted to analyze the power of Rasiel, that god-tier map-hack of an Angel.

Sure, the chances of using it in the Honkai universe were low—

But hey, you never know.

What if the rich girl hit the jackpot on her first try?

Besides, Nia Honjo was a fellow otaku—an anime, game, and light novel fan, and even a popular manga artist who'd drawn... some very spicy content.

As a fellow enthusiast, how could he just stand by and let her keep suffering under DEM's torture?

It's not like he wanted to read the R-18 stuff or anything..... Really...