The morning sun lazily shone upon the streets of Amamiya City, yet it could not dispel the dark cloud named "Social Death" hanging over Phoenix-in Chinatsu's heart.
She stood before the entrance mirror of her apartment building, looking at the blue-haired beautiful girl in the reflection who wore a standard school uniform but somehow made it look like a "limited edition." She took a deep, deep breath.
(Day two... Good, Phoenix-in Chinatsu, you can do this. As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others. Aha above, please bless me not to cause any new trouble today.)
She skillfully put on the [mask of the fool], adjusting the "life is meaningless" expression on her overly delicate face into a cold, "don't touch me" indifference.
At the very least, this thing could make her seem unapproachable and reduce unnecessary attempts at conversation... Probably.
With a feeling akin to visiting a grave, Chinatsu pushed open the door and stepped onto the "execution ground" leading to the school.
However, the scriptwriter of fate (most likely Aha itself) seemed to think yesterday's fun wasn't enough.
Not long after leaving the apartment building, at an ordinary street corner, she ran straight into the person she least wanted to face alone right now—Itsuka Shido.
Shido had clearly seen her too.
!
His body visibly froze, as if instantly captured by an invisible "field of awkwardness."
His gaze, like a startled bird, hastily swept across her face, then snapped away as if burned, fixating intensely on a nearby utility pole.
It was as if a peerless secret manual titled "How to Safely Interact with a Beautiful Girl Who is Possibly a Spirit and Might Read Minds" had suddenly sprouted there.
His cheeks flushed at an alarming speed, turning red all the way to his earlobes.
(Ah... It's Shido.)
Chinatsu felt completely calm inside, even slightly amused.
(Why does his expression look like he's seen a ghost this early in the morning? Oh right, I think I scared him quite a bit yesterday.)
(His expression management has completely failed. It seems Fraxinus's post-battle review last night was remarkably effective.)
Adhering to her principles of "maintaining her persona" and "seeing how awkward he can get," she was about to follow protocol and offer a greeting in a bland tone: "Classmate Itsuka..."
Before she could utter the third word, Shido jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, interrupting her almost yelling: "G-G-Good morning! Classmate Hōōin!"
His voice was so rushed and loud that it drew curious glances from several students walking to school nearby.
Shido immediately panicked further; he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and his eyes darted everywhere but her, his entire being exuding a strong aura of "I feel guilty I am nervous I apologize to you what should I do."
(Hmm?)
Chinatsu slightly raised her eyebrow, a hint of amusement curving the corner of her mouth beneath the mask.
(This reaction... is even more intense than yesterday. Did Kotori give him special training last night on the "High-Risk Spirit Response Manual: Scream and Run Chapter"?)
Little did she know, Shido's CPU was currently in severe overload:
The terrifying conjectures from the kitchen last night ("memory reading," "Koushi is a hostage"), Kotori's roaring command "do not be charmed," and the uncontrollable loop of soft touch and dependent gaze playing in his mind... all these factors combined.
Seeing Chinatsu now was like seeing a paradoxical bomb simultaneously labeled "Extremely Dangerous" and "Extremely Cute."
His eyes darted around, refusing to look directly at her, and he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, his entire being radiating a strong aura of "I feel guilty I am nervous I am sorry."
(Hmm?)
Chinatsu slightly raised her eyebrow.
(This reaction... is even more exaggerated than yesterday. Did the people on Fraxinus give him special training last night? Was the content "How to Stay Away from Suspicious Spirits"?)
"Good morning, Classmate Itsuka," Chinatsu smoothly changed her address, her tone still flat, as if she hadn't noticed his odd behavior. "What a coincidence."
"Y-Yes! What a coincidence!" Shido echoed dryly, his gaze drifting toward a roadside tree, as if the most beautiful flower in the world had suddenly bloomed there. "So... um... shall we go to school... together?"
He practically forced himself to extend the invitation, fulfilling Kotori's order to "maintain a friendly façade," yet his body language screamed, "Please reject me."
(He's definitely strange. But, this is quite interesting.)
Chinatsu chuckled internally, deciding to go with the flow and see how far this drama would unfold.
"Mhm." She nodded lightly, then started walking.
And so, a walk began that was even more bizarre than their walk home yesterday.
Shido was practically taut with tension, deliberately maintaining a "socially safe distance," his walking posture so stiff it resembled a robot that had just learned how to operate its own body.
Several times, he secretly glanced at Chinatsu out of the corner of his eye, his lips trembling, seemingly trying to dig up a safe topic to break the suffocating silence, but it ultimately dissolved into a few vague gasps and even redder earlobes.
The density of awkwardness permeating the air was almost palpable.
Chinatsu, meanwhile, maintained a completely "I don't care" attitude. She enjoyed the peace, savoring the relatively fresh morning air (automatically filtering out the source of intense anxiety waves constantly emanating beside her).
While simultaneously running a live commentary barrage in her mind: (So Fraxinus's special training resulted in him becoming a humanoid, self-propelled awkwardness generator? Or turning him into a mute, uncoordinated robot? Quite a unique effect. Isn't this training direction a bit off?)
(What exactly is he imagining? Is he afraid I'll suddenly pull out the Eden Star and hit him with a pseudo-black hole? Or does he think I'll suddenly read his mind? Hmm... the latter doesn't seem entirely impossible?)
(But seeing him like this is actually a little more entertaining than his silly kindness yesterday...)
(What exactly is making him so nervous? Is he afraid I'll suddenly jump on him and hug his arm again? Hmm... I suppose that's not entirely out of the question, since annoying Kotori is quite fun...)
The two walked silently like this, reaching the school gate at an extremely uncoordinated pace.
Just before stepping through the gate, just before merging into the noisy crowd and finding liberation, Shido seemed to finally run out of all his courage points.
He abruptly stopped, turned around, and as if having made some sort of resolution, his gaze, though still slightly wavering, finally dared to meet Chinatsu's eyes.
"U-Um! Classmate Hōōin!" His voice was slightly dry from nervousness, but his tone carried an unmistakable concern and urgency. "P-Please wait a moment!"
Chinatsu stopped, slightly tilted her head, and used her eyes to ask a question. (Oh? A new script?)