I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

"Dammit!"

Her small fist slammed against the armrest of the chair. Tohka Kotori almost bit through the lollipop in her mouth.

"Commander! What do we do now?!"

"What else can we do? Cut the transmission!"

Kotori barked at the crew member who had asked, then turned to Shidou Itsuka. "Sorry, Shidou. From here on out, Fraxinus probably won't be able to support you. Whatever you need to say or do, you'll have to decide on your own."

What could she do? After all, the other party had made it clear—if they continued interfering with Shidou, there would be no further conversation.

"We really messed up... This Spirit is way more troublesome than we thought."

Fraxinus was about to terminate communications when, unexpectedly, Melusine suddenly spoke up.

"No, there's no need to cut the transmission. There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

Then, Melusine led Shidou over to the side of the fainted girl—the one who had been bullied.

Shidou looked at her and asked, "This girl is...?"

The crew aboard Fraxinus already knew what had happened to her. They had been monitoring Melusine's every move, and thus had seen her intervene to stop the bullying.

But Shidou didn't know.

"School bullying. It's a pretty common thing, isn't it?"

When Melusine said this, there was a weary helplessness in her tone. "Although I don't believe I can eliminate all the injustices of the world, when I see them, I cannot simply turn a blind eye."

Hearing this, Shidou instinctively nodded.

Even the crew members aboard Fraxinus silently nodded in agreement.

"So..."

Kotori spoke to Melusine through her earpiece. "You want us to help this girl?"

"That's right."

Melusine nodded. "Her situation at school isn't good... If possible, I hope you can assist her. Malice in the human heart isn't something that can be solved by the sword. No matter how strong I am, when facing things like this, I still feel utterly powerless."

"We can do that. Ratatoskr can arrange for her to transfer to a more peaceful school."

After all, Ratatoskr had the ability to enroll Spirits—who technically had no identity—into schools as students. A simple transfer was practically effortless.

However, Melusine shook her head.

"A mere transfer might not be enough."

"Hm?"

"This girl's father... seems to have been imprisoned after being framed. It's because of this that she became a target for bullying... I gathered this from the bullies themselves."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Kotori fell into deep thought. "If what you say is true, then the solution's simple. As long as we can prove her father's innocence, everything can be resolved."

"Of course, that's assuming her father really was framed."

Melusine added, "If it turns out he truly is a criminal who deserves to be in prison, then there's no need to save him."

"...Understood."

Although Fraxinus had witnessed the bullying incident and Melusine stepping in, they hadn't seen the full sequence of events—and Melusine had no intention of letting them.

Healing abilities weren't a big deal, but the power to read memories was something Melusine intended to keep hidden. It was far too easy to spark fear.

Compared to sheer destructive power that could pierce the earth itself, it was the ability to peer into hearts that made people truly wary—because in every heart, there are places one wishes to keep hidden.

"We can accomplish everything you've asked. So—let's talk terms..."

"Wait, Kotori! Why do there have to be terms? Can't we just help her unconditionally?"

Shidou immediately protested, his voice tense. Lancelot had gone out of her way to plead for the sake of a girl she barely knew—why did they have to negotiate?

"Shut up, you idiot! This is called negotiation! Negotiation, you hear me?!"

In truth, Kotori herself despised school bullying. She wanted to help that pitiful girl too...

To extract a wrongfully accused official from prison wasn't exactly difficult for Ratatoskr, but it wasn't entirely easy either.

The problem was, Ratatoskr wasn't a charity organization. If Kotori Itsuka simply asked their higher-ups to help unconditionally, it was highly unlikely they would agree. But if she framed it as something beneficial to the "Spirit capture" project, then it was a different story altogether.

Although Kotori had told Shidou that Ratatoskr was fundamentally different from AST—that it was a secret organization dedicated to communicating with Spirits and resolving spacequakes through peaceful means—she understood very well, having dealt with those above her, that many people gathered in Ratatoskr out of self-interest or sheer curiosity about the existence of Spirits.

When it came to those higher-ups, Kotori only truly trusted Elliot.

Melusine stroked her chin, deliberately posing in a thoughtful, mature manner.

"Speaking from common sense, since I was the one who asked for your help first, it's only natural that you would want something in return. Lending a hand to someone you've just met is, after all, quite the burden."

After a moment's hesitation, her golden eyes looked earnestly at Shidou.

"Very well. I accept. Mutual benefit, with no debts between us—that is the ideal outcome."

Honestly, in that moment, Shidou found it hard to meet those gleaming, sunlit eyes.

It felt like he was exploiting her kindness, taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable position… and his conscience screamed at him for it.

And he wasn't the only one who felt that way. The crew aboard Fraxinus shared the same heavy guilt.

"I feel like some irredeemable villain…"

"Dammit... don't look at me with such pure, straightforward eyes! It's like I'm about to be incinerated by the radiance of the sun!"

"Uuuu… Looking at Lancelot, I see my hundred wedding wives from my games…! How could such a perfect girl exist in the real world?!"

"Sob sob… I'm sorry, Little Lan... please forgive Mama…"

Several members threw back their heads and wailed. One female crew member, fond of calling herself "Mama," even broke down in tears.

"Shut up, you stupid cicadas from North America!"

Kotori stomped her foot furiously and shouted, silencing the cacophony in one blow.

She was super frustrated. Her conscience hurt too. She felt genuinely guilty toward Melusine.

Even if she had perfectly logical reasons, it didn't make her feel any better.

Dammit… This is all Shidou's fault! If only he could have conquered Meteor in one go, I wouldn't have to make underhanded deals like this!

Kotori ground her teeth in frustration.

To be fair to Shidou, he was a bit of a scapegoat here. Kotori's anger wasn't entirely rational.

But then again… wasn't that just how little sisters were supposed to be?

"I can agree to do something for you in exchange for your assistance," Melusine said calmly. "Of course, it must be within my capabilities, and it cannot violate my code of conduct."

"Don't worry! It'll absolutely be something you can do, and it won't make you do anything bad!"

Even though her conscience continued to lash her like waves against a cliff, Kotori's excitement was steadily building.

Finally—!

After so many days of painstaking effort, they were making progress at last!

Sure, the method wasn't exactly clean... but as long as the outcome was good, who cared?

And so, Kotori threw off all pretense.

"Our condition is—spend a whole day on a date with Shidou!"

The moment Kotori laid out their demand, Shidou noticed a strange expression flicker across Melusine's face.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something—but after a swirl of conflicting emotions, he ultimately said nothing.

"A date, huh…"

"What's wrong? Are you going to refuse?"

Kotori's fingers tightened around her earpiece, brows knitting in tension. Even she wasn't sure she could convince Melusine to accept.

Meteor—or rather, Lancelot—possessed terrifying strength, perhaps the greatest among known Spirits. But the good news was that she harbored no malice toward humanity at all; Ratatoskr's threat assessment of her was even lower than that of Yoshino, the "most harmless Spirit."

Back then, Yoshino had once caused a blizzard that engulfed an entire city just from losing her puppet, Yoshinon.

Kotori feared Melusine might refuse. If she did, Kotori planned to propose a different condition—anything to increase her favorability, even if it wasn't a date.

Melusine's silence and deliberation had everyone on edge.

Finally, Melusine spoke, voice soft but firm.

"I will not go on a date with Shidou."

Though she had steeled herself for rejection, hearing it still dealt Kotori a heavy blow.

"…Can you tell us why? That wouldn't be against your code, would it?"

"..."

On the large monitor, the crew of Fraxinus and Shidou could see Melusine clearly.

And then—they saw it.

The once-proud, knightly Melusine… averting her gaze, cheeks flushed pink with shy embarrassment, looking for all the world like a maiden in love.

"Because... I already have someone I like…"

Gone was her earlier composure and stoicism. Her shy whisper brimmed with an overwhelming happiness that nearly spilled over.

"So—so cute!"

That was everyone's immediate reaction.

"Lancelot already has someone she loves?!"

That was their second.

It was as if a boulder had dropped into a still lake, sending colossal waves crashing outward.

No one had seen this coming. They had never accounted for the possibility… that the Spirit they were trying to capture was already in love!

How the hell were they supposed to continue now——?!

"No way! How can a Spirit already have someone they love?!"

The lollipop fell from Kotori's mouth, but she didn't even notice. She stomped on the chair and screamed out her frustrations.

Adjusting her slightly askew glasses, Reine Murasame forced herself to stay calm. "…In truth, Spirits, despite their overwhelming powers akin to natural disasters, are emotionally not much different from ordinary girls. It's not impossible for one to have fallen in love before meeting little Shidou."

"Lancelot is clearly very different from other Spirits," Reine continued. "She's perfectly adapted to human society. Her understanding of social norms is extensive. Even without Ratatoskr's intervention, she could live among humans. It wouldn't be surprising if she fell for someone during that time…"

"But—the—problem—is—!"

Kotori grabbed Reine by the collar in her frustration and began shaking her wildly.

Standing on the chair was the only way Kotori, who was nearly twenty centimeters shorter than Reine, could hoist her up like that.

"U-Um… Lancelot."

Shidou, too, had been thrown into shock hearing Melusine say she already had someone she liked. But he quickly pulled himself together, scratching his cheek awkwardly as he asked curiously, "What kind of person... is the one you like?"

"Heheh! Are you curious? Are you curious about Master? You want to know what kind of person Master is?"

Startled, Shidou's heart skipped a beat—because in just an instant, Melusine had appeared right in front of him, those brilliant gold eyes twinkling like stars.

Whether it was a good thing or not, Shidou wasn't sure. But he definitely felt that Melusine seemed far more energetic than before.

However, something else soon caught his attention.

"Master?"

Shidou vaguely remembered "Master" being used to mean "teacher," "lord," or "sorcerer" in films… but none of those really sounded like terms you'd use for someone you had a crush on.

Or was it… was "Master" actually the name of the person she loved? Masutā?

That's... kinda weird.

"But, describing what kind of person Master is…"

Melusine tilted her head slightly, tapping her crimson lips with her fingertip, face full of hesitation.

After all… no matter how she put it, it would probably sound like she was bragging.

So embarrassing…

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T/N: hehehe