Chapter 27: A Heart of Compassion Twisted Beyond Recognition

Happy moments are always fleeting.

It was only when Toka’s stomach began to rumble with hunger that Su Mo reluctantly took her hand and led her out of the aquarium.

“Su Mo, let’s go eat fish!” Toka suddenly proposed, her eyes sparkling brilliantly. Having just seen so many kinds of fish, her mind was now filled with visions of fish—especially how they would look cooked and served as dishes.

Su Mo gently rubbed his forehead. This was indeed the foodie girl he knew—no matter where she went, eating was always the priority. But today was meant to be a date with Toka, so he nodded, “No problem!”

With Toka in tow, Su Mo searched for a restaurant along the street and soon walked inside. Seated at a table, they were quickly handed menus by a waitress, but Toka snatched it away, pointing eagerly at the selections. “I want a giant double cheese burger meal, fried chicken nuggets, fried oyster combo, a mixed grilled meat platter, a Margherita pizza, and a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce. Oh, and do you have fish dishes? Bring me everything you have with fish in it!”

Witnessing Toka’s astonishing order—every item bursting with calories—Su Mo and the waitress exchanged astonished glances. The waitress was likely wondering if the two of them could possibly finish so much food.

But Su Mo knew she was underestimating Toka’s appetite. If Toka wished, she could sit here and eat for three days and nights without stopping. Such was the terror of a true foodie. He stroked his wallet, wondering if he’d have enough to pay for all this.

Before he could lament further, his phone, tucked in his pocket, suddenly rang.

He answered it, and Kotori’s anxious voice came through.

“Su Mo, the Hermit has appeared. Hurry back to Fraxinus. I’ll use the teleport device to send you directly to the spirit’s location. Your job is to communicate with her and seal her powers,” Kotori declared, her tone grave.

Hearing that Yoshino had finally appeared, Su Mo instinctively touched the bunny plush he kept close to his chest. He’d carried it constantly these days, just in case something urgent happened, like today. He hadn’t expected Yoshino to show up so soon—he’d only gotten the plush yesterday, thinking he’d have to wait a few days to meet her again, but she had already emerged.

Faced with such an emergency, Su Mo reflexively looked up at the excited Toka across from him and apologized, “Sorry, Toka, something urgent has come up that I need to take care of. I can’t stay with you right now, but you should eat here first. Next time, I promise I’ll give you a perfect date.”

Su Mo truly felt guilty. In this world, his bond with Toka was the closest; their lives were intertwined by contract, yet he kept letting her down for one reason or another. Promises made were left unfulfilled.

Toka’s lips pouted high at his words, her once bright smile replaced with disappointment. Yet, hearing he had urgent business, she couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Is that so? Do you need any help?”

Among all the spirits, Toka’s strength was formidable—she would be a powerful ally. But Su Mo’s goal was to communicate with Yoshino. If Toka saw her, jealousy would surely arise. Back at school, Toka often got jealous of Origami, making Su Mo’s life difficult between the two. To add Yoshino into the mix was unimaginable.

So Su Mo firmly refused.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it alone.” With that, he handed his wallet to Toka, then strode out of the restaurant by himself.

After putting on the communicator Kotori had given him, Su Mo quickly found a deserted spot on the street. Soon, he felt a sudden weightlessness, and was inexplicably lifted into the air—that was Ratatoskr’s teleport device, able to send him to the Fraxinus ship and then teleport him elsewhere.

The device had its limitations: it could only teleport in a straight line, always to directly beneath the ship—never freely across the world. Luckily, Fraxinus was currently positioned right overhead, so Su Mo was collected effortlessly.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back at Ratatoskr’s headquarters.

Toka still sat in the command chair, with Kyohei Kannazuki and Reine Murasame standing to her left and right.

Before Su Mo could even ask, Kotori, in commander mode, waved and cut him off, “No need for extra words. Just now, the AST Spirit Combat Unit also tracked down the Hermit and began attacking the spirit. You need to hurry and rescue her, then seal her powers.”

“No problem.”

Su Mo nodded in silence.

Soon, he felt weightlessness again, and suddenly found himself behind a tall building. Sometime during all this, a fine rain had begun to fall from the sky—whenever Yoshino appeared, water and ice followed, as she was the spirit who controlled them.

Not far ahead, an apartment building was blanketed in ice and snow, thick layers covering it, frost spilling onto the street and continually spreading. In the sky above, AST members floated midair in their manifestation suits, activating their random fields, their various weaponry—filled with ammunition and looking quite impressive—trained on the apartment.

“Strange... why aren’t they making a move?” Su Mo wondered. Last time, when Toka appeared, AST had attacked immediately, yet now they held back.

Kotori’s voice sounded in his ear, quickly explaining, “It’s normal. AST members have powerful manifestation suits, but these devices have a flaw—they can’t perform at full strength in close quarters or complex environments. And while the country has disaster recovery units, the AST knows the Hermit won’t fight back, so they won’t use destructive weapons, since repairs would cost a fortune. That’s the difference between AST and us—they’re official, so they have to consider many things and can’t act rashly. The Hermit is probably hiding in the apartment, so AST is just waiting nearby, hoping she’ll come out.”

Hearing Kotori’s explanation, Su Mo thought of that gentle, fragile spirit—a girl who would rather be hurt herself than ever harm another. Her excessive compassion made her all the more pitiable.

With this in mind, Su Mo quietly edged along the building into the icy world, sneaking into the apartment while the AST members were distracted.

(If you enjoy the story, please recommend and bookmark. Is anyone actually reading this? It feels like I’m playing solo here.)