Chapter 25: Shall We Sign a Contract?
In a simple and unadorned room.
The vibration of the phone woke Kanade from his dream.
He propped up his tired body and sat up on the bed, sweat soaking through the white T-shirt he was wearing.
He reached out for his phone.
The screen displayed a call from Nagi.
At this moment, the sky outside had turned dark.
The faint glow from the phone screen illuminated Kanade’s slightly haggard face.
Three days had passed since that rainy night.
Perhaps it was due to being caught in the rain that night.
Kanade had suffered from a high fever for two days and took leave from school to rest at home.
He heard that Nagi was in the same situation as him, also taking leave due to fever.
As a result, they both missed the new semester’s study trip.
“Hey, cough cough…” Kanade answered the call, but his hoarse throat couldn’t help but cough.
“Good evening, Kanade-kun. Did I wake you?”
Nagi’s clear and melodious voice was like a gentle breeze, blowing away Kanade’s deep-seated fatigue and restoring a bit of his energy.
The voice of Nagi on the other end was refreshing enough that it was hard to notice she had just recovered her health.
Indeed, people’s bodies are not quite the same, aren’t they?
He knew Nagi often went for morning runs to keep fit.
It seems that regular exercise really does pay off during times like this…
Kanade thought to himself.
At the same time, he wondered if he should also start doing some basic exercises after he recovered.
“Kanade-kun, are you feeling any better?” Nagi’s worried voice came through the phone.
“Yeah, the fever has dropped. I should be able to go back to school normally tomorrow…”
“Oh, that’s great! We can go to school together again, Kanade-kun~”
Nagi’s cheerful tone and caring tone made Kanade’s heart feel a little light.
For the past few days, Nagi had been calling every night to check on Kanade’s condition, which had become the most anticipated moment of his day.
But suddenly, Nagi’s tone turned somber:
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault that you couldn’t participate in the study trip.”
Kanade could almost see Nagi’s apologetic face through the phone.
“I don’t mind, you don’t need to worry about it, little Nagi…”
Although Kanade had looked forward to the study trip, it was only worthwhile if he could go with Nagi.
Without Nagi, he didn’t feel any regret about missing the trip at all.
“Kanade-kun.”
“What?”
“Next year… let’s definitely go to the study trip together. I promise, okay?”
“…Yeah, promise…”
The time spent chatting with Nagi was joyful yet brief.
As usual, Nagi brought up that topic again.
“Kanade-kun, are you really okay about the curse of the evil spirit?” Nagi asked repeatedly.
“Because I haven’t felt the evil spirit’s gaze at all these days, according to supernatural publications, maybe the evil spirit’s curse has already shifted to you…”
“Ah, it’s fine. Little Nagi, don’t worry. I really feel nothing…”
“But…”
“Maybe after we escaped that day, the curse of the evil spirit also disappeared…” Kanade’s voice was very dry as he forced an optimistic tone.
“So, little Nagi, let’s just consider it a nightmare and that it’s… over now.”
“…..Hmm, thank you, Kanade-kun. Tomorrow, let me come pick you up for school.”
If it were Kanade on a normal day, he would certainly decline at this point.
But at this moment, he didn’t have the energy to refuse.
After Nagi hung up, Kanade dragged his weary body off the bed.
That day felt to Kanade like a nightmare.
Whether it was Nagi disappearing beside him, the sudden encroachment of dusk penetrating the night, or those two witches exuding an eerie atmosphere.
He experienced, for the first time, a truly unusual side of this world.
In such an intuitive way.
Though he reassured Nagi that the nightmare was over.
For him, however, the dream was still ongoing.
Sitting at his desk, Kanade could clearly feel a gaze on the back of his head.
And here clearly was his own room, with no one else present apart from himself; he was facing the wall with no windows.
The curse of the evil spirit, Dokidoki-chan.
It really seemed like what Nagi worried about was true; it had transferred onto him.
But in order not to worry little Nagi… is this how she felt during those days? Kanade thought to himself.
While he didn’t know how much longer it was until he would face divine hiddenness, it was evident that the promise to go on a study trip together next year…
Suddenly, Kanade’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him.
He turned around abruptly.
The footsteps came from the dark shadow in the room.
Light, but particularly noticeable in the quiet room.
Outside the window, the night sky cleared, and the moon emerged from the clouds, casting its bright light onto the floor of the room.
Illuminating the figure emerging from the shadows.
It was a doll, only about the size of a palm.
Its wooden head was delicately carved with three-dimensional features, two crystal-clear large eyeballs embedded in the eye sockets, and its wig styled in a center part reflecting glimmers in the moonlight, making it seem lifelike.
Its slender body wore a pair of light blue denim overalls and a white T-shirt, resembling an energetic and lively child.
But its expression was fiercely twisted, as if the plastic had melted and warped under intense heat, giving this seemingly exquisite doll an eerie atmosphere.
Though it was Kanade’s first time seeing it, he could keenly sense that this strange doll before him was the evil spirit, Dokidoki-chan.
“Hey, boy.”
The voice of the evil spirit, Dokidoki-chan, surprised Kanade. It was a somewhat cute doll-like voice, yet the tone was very mature.
“Are… you talking to me?”
Since experiencing that night, Kanade found he had developed a certain resistance to the supernatural.
Even abruptly conversing with a moving, talking doll, Kanade could quickly acclimate.
There was no doubt that the doll was an evil spirit.
But after seeing the evil spirit’s true form with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but recall the role his childhood friend had played on screen as an evil spirit.
Suddenly, he felt no fear; instead, it felt oddly familiar.
“……Nice to meet you, I’m Dokidoki-chan. You can call me DD or whatever you like.”
“…..Tsukimi Kanade.”
Though Kanade felt that suddenly introducing himself to an evil spirit was surreal, his good upbringing prompted him to respond reflexively.
“Now then, Kanade, there’s something I feel is important to remind you…”
“You just called me by my first name!?”
For some reason, the way the other spoke felt inexplicably familiar, and he found himself retorting without thinking.
“The following statement… to be honest, is my personal advice. Absolutely, absolutely do not mention it to anyone else…” DD’s tone grew serious as it covered the corners of its mouth with a hand, as if revealing some major secret.
Witnessing this scene, Kanade found himself swallowing nervously.
“Actually, Kanade, you’ve been entangled with something dirty.”
“Are you introducing yourself!? Isn’t it obvious that I’m tied to this evil spirit!?”
“Ah, poor child…”
“Wow, I really don’t want to be looked at in that way by you, the perpetrator!?”
“Kanade, I believe in you, you can do it! You have to try to break free from that dirty thing!”
“Why should I be encouraged by you!? Rather, if you just leave voluntarily, I could get rid of it, right!?”
But DD seemed to ignore Kanade’s retort, cleared its throat, and straightened its posture.
“Well, that’s the end of my personal advice. Next…”
“Kanade, do you want to sign a contract with me?” DD-chan said, extending a hand toward Kanade under the moonlight.
“Huh? Of course not! Is that even a question?” Kanade quickly replied.
“Wha…?”
“Why the surprised expression!?”
Kanade wanted to ask who in their right mind would engage in a ‘contract’ with an evil spirit that suddenly appeared.
And it was an evil spirit, after all?
If he agreed, would he become a magical girl or an evil spirit boy?
Though he didn’t want to be either of those.
“But, Kanade, don’t you want it?” DD-chan seemed undeterred, slowly speaking: “Supernatural powers.”
Scenes from that day flashed through Kanade’s mind.
Supernatural powers…
If he had those powers…
“If I had the power…” DD-chan suddenly recited: “Maybe I could help ‘protect’ that child, you know?”
Kanade, upon hearing this, fell into thought under the bright moon.
…..
…..
In the dimly lit room.
Nagi hung up the phone.
With the phone screen darkening, the stars in her eyes also lost their luster.
Nagi stopped the unconscious action of twirling her hair with her fingers.
“DD-chan should be making an appearance now,” Nagi thought.
For safety’s sake.
She had given DD-chan to Kanade. Being an imagined magical being, DD-chan could sign a contract with Kanade to become a summoned beast.
This way, even if Kanade hadn’t awakened any extraordinary abilities, he could still wield a certain level of supernatural power, which might be useful for protection in necessary situations… but that was unlikely.
All of these were just excuses.
In reality, Nagi’s plan was to have DD-chan act as an undercover operative by Kanade’s side.
After experiencing the white spirit maiden incident, Nagi realized that she couldn’t keep an eye on all of Kanade’s actions at all times; unexpected events might occur in the future.
That’s why she needed DD-chan as an informant, always staying close to Kanade.
At the same time, she wanted DD-chan to guide Kanade into the “real world.”
After all that, Kanade would surely become curious about that world, so he needed a guide to help him acquire some necessary knowledge while also hiding things that he shouldn’t know.
Using DD-chan to manage information about Kanade.
Nagi sat up from her bed and went to her desk.
On it lay a jade-colored talisman, which, instead of the shimmering golden fox embroidery it should have had, had turned black and grey.
Amamiya Chika.
Her personal story had, with Nagi’s intervention, temporarily avoided contact with the “false god, the white spirit,” but she still needed to be monitored.
Nagi had used her flag through Chika to build a bond with Kanade; though it cannot be called a failure, it had also become hard to deem a success since Kanade had seen a bit too early of the real world.
Amamiya Chika, the duality, Tsukimi Kanade, the false god white spirit… there were too many things to keep an eye on.
—Should I increase the manpower?
“Master.” The Garuda that flew in through the open window interrupted Nagi’s thoughts.
“Garuda, what’s the matter?”
“It seems that the Special Circle SEMA has detected this incident and begun to act.”
“……” Hearing this, Nagi squinted her eyes.
“They dispatched the target that you specifically requested to monitor, planning to let her infiltrate Hoshikage Academy to search for clues about this incident.”
“It’s that blonde-haired beautiful girl who appears to be around your age.”
“—Alice Astrea.”
Nagi sighed, her black long hair swaying as well.
Is the other female protagonist arriving so soon?
