In the end, Shidou accepted it.
If Tenqi Sanluo really wanted to follow him, refusing her wouldn't make any difference anyway.
"Shidou, are you serious?"
Kotori's somewhat anxious voice came from the earpiece.
"Yes. Tenqi-san's intention is obvious. She phrased it like a question, but she didn't give me any room to refuse."
Shidou glanced carefully at Tenqi Sanluo beside him and lowered his voice.
"You don't need to whisper. I can hear you clearly."
Standing to the side, Tenqi shot Shidou a sideways glance as she spoke.
Honestly, she couldn't believe this group—who couldn't do anything besides drag Shidou down—still hadn't been abandoned by the organization behind him. She couldn't help but worry about the future of this group called Ratatoskr.
But since it had nothing to do with her interests, there was no need to think about it.
"Kotori, where's the Spirit reaction!?"
"Wait just a moment—"
Just then, Shidou's eyebrows twitched.
From ahead—from the direction of the Grand Theater—something could be heard.
"This is… singing?"
Yes. Although the walls muffled it and only faint sounds made it through, it was unmistakably singing.
"Heh. Yuyou Miku…"
Tenqi cast Shidou a glance, as if anticipating the events to come, letting out a cold laugh.
"Kotori, the Spirit reaction…!"
"Hold on… Yes, it's inside the Grand Theater in front of you!"
With Kotori's confirmation, Shidou pushed open the large doors in astonishment and stepped into the theater. Tenqi silently followed, producing no sound at all.
Those footsteps were something she had trained in her previous life—almost completely silent, perfect for concealment. At this point it had become second nature.
In that instant—Shidou held his breath.
At the center of the theater stood a single raised platform, lit from below by several spotlights, all illumination converging on it.
And in the very center stood a girl dressed in an outfit that looked as if it were woven from particles of light. With her soft singing, her voice filled the entire hall.
It was a lullaby-like melody made of words Shidou couldn't understand—gentle, yet vibrating his eardrums and tugging at his heartstrings with every note.
"…Ah…"
Without meaning to, a heartfelt sigh escaped Shidou's throat.
There was no accompaniment, no microphone—pure a cappella.
Yet the sound, formed solely by her voice, felt as if it pierced straight into his soul, making it hard for him to move.
As for Tenqi Sanluo? Unfortunately, she could not appreciate this kind of singing. Her heart remained completely unchanged.
Given the environment she grew up in, her brain simply lacked the "music appreciation" section. She could never understand the value of something so useless—this soft, powerless song—weak to her ears, bordering on decadent noise, not worth listening to.
"! Don't tell me…"
"!"
Kotori's voice suddenly sounded in his right ear, snapping Shidou out of his trance.
Right—this was not the time to be absorbed in singing.
After all, he had an extremely difficult mission awaiting him.
"Kotori, what were you going to say?"
"This Spirit… she might be Diva."
"…Diva?"
"Yes. A Spirit confirmed to have appeared once about half a year ago. There is a record of her in our database, but almost no information—nothing detailed at all. We didn't even know her name until Tenqi Sanluo mentioned it. So be careful when approaching her."
"Understood."
Shidou nodded softly and began approaching the girl.
"Tch. So troublesome."
Compared to Shidou's caution, Tenqi had none. She deliberately walked toward Yuyou Miku with loud, echoing footsteps that resounded through the silent theater.
"! Tenqi-san…"
"Itsuka Shidou, no need to thank me."
Seeing Shidou's puzzlement, panic, and slight anger, Tenqi waved dismissively, as though he now owed her another favor.
The moment her footsteps reached the center platform, the singing abruptly stopped.
"…Eh?"
The girl let out a slow, surprised sound—very different from her earlier singing.
"Is there an audience? I was getting a little bored alone—how about coming out and talking with me?"
She sounded like a very easy-to-talk-to Spirit.
Not only did Kotori on the airship think so—even Tenqi standing on the ground thought so.
"Miku… Miku-san, it's me."
Before Shidou could receive instructions from Kotori, Tenqi stepped out from the shadows with an innocent smile and greeted the girl on the platform.
"Oh! It's you! Tenqi-san!"
Seeing that her "audience" was Tenqi Sanluo, Yuyou Miku looked delighted and began running toward her.
"Stop, stop."
Tenqi hurriedly raised her hand to halt her.
"So, what brings you here, Tenqi-chan?"
Realizing she had acted somewhat rashly, Miku straightened her already-neat outfit and spoke in a clear voice.
"I followed an idiot here to watch your solo concert—something like that? Doesn't matter. He's the real star today, not me—you shouldn't be focusing on me—"
Halfway through her words, Tenqi suddenly grabbed Shidou—who had sensed her intention and was trying to escape—and yanked him out into the faint light.
"He's the one, right? Itsuka Shidou."
"!!!"
Though he was mentally prepared to meet the Spirit, this kind of sudden, forced introduction… he wasn't prepared for that.
On the airship Fraxinus, the crew simultaneously held their breath.
This kind of first encounter was bad—if it left a negative impression on the Spirit, they would be in trouble.
"This Tenqi Sanluo… Fine, whatever."
Kotori was furious, but remembering that she couldn't defeat Tenqi, she could only think desperately about how to salvage the situation.
"Kotori, what should I do now!?"
Dangling like a chick in Tenqi's grip, Shidou quickly asked the support team.
"…Wait, Shidou, the options are here."
On the main bridge screen, a window with three choices appeared:
① "You're so beautiful and dazzling that I couldn't help but be drawn to you."
② "Your singing… was truly wonderful."
③ "The view from down here is absolutely amazing."
"Everyone, vote!"
Following Kotori's order, results immediately appeared.
"So the majority chose ②? That's expected."
Kotori was not surprised.
"Option ① works too, but it's a bit too forward. So ② is safer."
"Since she's singing here, praise shouldn't cause any negative reaction."
The crew's analysis was reasonable.
"Reine, what do you think?"
The woman seated left of Kotori—Muramasa Reine, dark circles heavy beneath her eyes—dully replied:
"This is the safest approach. We have extremely little intel on this Spirit; we can use her reaction to judge our strategy going forward."
"Mm… and as for option ③…"
Kotori stirred her candy stick and looked at Kannazuki beside her, snapping her fingers.
Immediately, two burly men rushed in, grabbed Kannazuki, and prepared to toss him into the ocean.
"Commander! I didn't pick that one! I voted for ②!"
Seeing this, Kannazuki desperately pleaded.
"Oh? Then who picked it?"
Kotori opened the vote details and saw that the only one who voted for ③ was Nakatsugawa.
"Nakatsugawa?"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Explain yourself. Since it wasn't Kannazuki, I'll give you a chance."
Nakatsugawa swallowed nervously.
"Commander, I…"
"Alright, whichever you pick doesn't matter. The result would be the same."
At that moment, Tenqi Sanluo's voice echoed through the bridge.
She had taken advantage of Shidou's hesitation, removed the earpiece from his ear, and was speaking directly into it.
"…Tenqi-san, what do you mean by that?"
Kotori frowned.
"Exactly what I said."
Watching Yuyou Miku's expression twist more and more, Tenqi almost burst into laughter—if not for wanting to enjoy the show.