Ever since the Spirit Princess had returned to the neighboring world, Tengu City had enjoyed a rare stretch of peace. For nearly two weeks, not a single spacequake had disturbed the city.
Shuo Nangong, for once, found himself with plenty of free time.
His days at school were a cycle of napping on his desk and teaming up with Honjo Nia for online games.
Ever since Nia had learned his true identity, she'd latched onto him relentlessly, begging for stories about other worlds—"for manga inspiration," she insisted.
Unable to withstand her persistence, Shuo finally conjured up a handful of smartphones for her.
Loaded with everything: Honor of Kings, Naruto, stacks of novels, mountains of manga.
Nia's life quickly devolved into full-blown shut-in mode. She barely left her room, lost in binge-watching, gaming, and the sweet, sweet embrace of otaku bliss.
"BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"
Just as Shuo and Nia were locked in an intense Honor of Kings match, the spacequake alarm blared to life—sharp, urgent, and all too familiar.
"Attention! Spacequake precursors detected in Tengu City. All residents, please proceed immediately to the nearest shelter. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill…"
Teachers sprang into action, ushering students toward the exits in practiced, orderly lines.
Shuo stretched, cracked his knuckles, and typed a quick message to his team:
"My future girlfriend's checking up on me. Gotta run!"
With that, he quit the game without hesitation.
Games were fun, sure—but Spirit waifus? Irreplaceable.
Besides, the spatial disturbance was centered on the school. If his hunch was right, this was the gluttonous Spirit Princess herself.
His teammates, however, were not so understanding.
"What the hell?! The guy who just got a pentakill went AFK?!"
"Damn it, AFK dog!"
"Bro, you—"
Even Nia, ever the chaos agent, tossed in a few snarky comments for good measure.
But Shuo was already tuning it all out, eyes fixed on the world beyond the screen. He could feel the ripple of another world brushing against his own, the telltale sign that the Princess was about to make her entrance.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Without even glancing at the caller ID, he picked up.
"Moshi moshi, little Kotori-chan. What's up?"
Predictably, Kotori's voice exploded through the speaker, as fierce as an angry kitten.
"You idiot! Where's the earpiece I gave you on the airship? Why aren't you wearing it?!"
"Earpiece?" Shuo feigned confusion, rummaging around in his system space. "Oh… Found it! Sorry, Kotori. Totally slipped my mind."
Kotori's teeth audibly ground together.
"You lewd-brained moron—ugh, forget it! Just get ready. The Spirit showing up today is the Princess whose Angel you stole last time. Odds are, she'll appear right at your school."
Shuo nodded, thoughtful. That lined up perfectly with the original story.
"Commander, the Princess is about to appear," came Reine's calm voice from the monitor, eyes fixed on the shifting spatial readings.
"Understood." Kotori turned to another screen displaying Raizen High School, her gaze sharpening.
Shuo Nangong… Let's see if you're really as strong as Nia claims.
BOOM!
A black-hole singularity pulsed, then erupted—an expanding purple shockwave swallowed the school grounds.
CRACK!
Several buildings collapsed in an instant. On the Fraxinus, the surveillance feed for Raizen High flickered, then went dark.
Kotori leapt to her feet. "Deploy new monitoring and comms equipment—now!"
She reached for her phone, ready to resume the call with Shuo—only to find the connection had been severed.
No way she'd hung up by accident. No way the spacequake had knocked out the line. There was only one possible culprit.
"That bastard actually hung up on me?! Go die!"
With a bang, she slammed her phone down—hard enough to shatter it.
After a moment to collect herself, Kotori turned to Reine, who stood quietly nearby.
"Reine, call that idiot and get a status update! Put it on speaker!"
"Yes, Commander."
On the other side—
Shuo stood atop the shattered remains of Raizen High, surveying the carnage with a resigned sigh.
"Every time that glutton Princess shows up, she makes a bigger entrance than me. Looks like school's out for the next few days…"
His phone buzzed again.
"Huh? Someone else calling?"
He checked the screen. Seeing the caller, a sly grin crept across his face.
"Moshi moshi, my dearest Reine-chan. What's up? Don't tell me you're worried about my safety!"
He laid it on thick, voice dripping with mock affection.
"Aww, I'm so touched! Don't worry, once I've wrapped things up here, I'll come give you a thorough physical. Promise!"
"…"
On the other end, even someone as unflappable as Reine nearly broke. Her eye twitched, composure slipping for a split second.
When did Shuo Nangong get so… familiar? Was he always this shameless?
Or—oh no—had he set his sights on her?
In the Fraxinus control room, Kannazuki and the others exchanged looks, barely hiding their grins.
Kotori, meanwhile, felt a sharp pang of jealousy. She snatched the phone away and barked into the receiver:
"You bastard! Since when are you and Reine so close?!"
"Oh, Kotori. Didn't recognize your voice for a second."
Shuo's tone shifted, a hint of sheepishness creeping in—he'd just hung up on her, after all.
"Uh… Is there something you need, Kotori?"
On the airship, Kotori took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
"I'm asking—have you spotted the Princess yet?"
"Princess?" Shuo's gaze flicked to a building that had somehow survived the spacequake, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"I see her already. About to go say hi."
"Wait! We need to discuss the plan for approaching the Princess—don't just rush in!"
"Huh? Discuss? Discuss what?"
Shuo blinked, genuinely confused.
(PS: Please subscribe, full subscribe! My first time writing Date A Live, so it might be a bit rough, but if you enjoy it, please send flowers and review tickets—thank you so much!)
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