Chapter Nine: Kotori Without Her Ribbon

Her subordinates were completely lambasted by her dear brother. This left Kotori Itsuka with a sense of defeat, but upon reflecting on Su Mo’s words, she found them entirely reasonable. She began to wonder just what kind of oddballs she had under her command—how had she never noticed it before?

Su Mo let out a light chuckle and mimed adjusting a pair of nonexistent glasses on his nose. The gesture made him feel clever; after all, in anime, master tacticians often did this sort of thing, usually to convey one of two messages: either “I’m about to show off,” or “I’ve just finished showing off.” Yet, when Su Mo did it, the effect was somewhat ludicrous, bordering on comical.

“All right, there’s no need for any of you to get involved with capturing the Spirits. I can handle it myself.” His tone was calm, as if he were merely stating a fact. For him, as long as the people from Ratatoskr weren’t a burden, things would already be ideal.

However, Kotori was stubborn about this matter.

“No way. Sure, my subordinates may not seem reliable, but you, dear brother, don’t have any romantic experience either! That makes me doubt whether you can handle capturing a Spirit on your own!” Kotori plucked the lollipop from her mouth and gripped it in her hand like a sword, pointing it at him with a flourish. Her red military uniform fluttered dramatically behind her, giving her a heroic air.

“Oh? And what do you suggest?” Su Mo sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

He truly didn’t need anyone’s help. As a Seer, he could exploit the weaknesses of each Spirit one by one. Still, he didn’t shut the door completely—after all, Ratatoskr was one of the only two organizations in the world capable of producing manifestation devices. Their strength and intelligence-gathering abilities were impressive.

Su Mo wasn’t opposed to cooperating with Ratatoskr, but he objected to their meddling and interference with his own plans.

“Care to make a bet?” Kotori suddenly proposed.

“What?”

Su Mo blinked, looking up at her with a trace of confusion in his eyes.

“If you can successfully confess to a complete stranger, I’ll acknowledge your romantic prowess. From then on, Ratatoskr won’t interfere with your affairs, and we’ll even provide you with unconditional support. But if you fail, you must follow our plan without question. So, are you willing to take this bet?” Kotori grinned mischievously, as if victory was already hers.

“Confess to a girl?” The corner of Su Mo’s mouth twitched. “How can you just confess to someone like that? If you’re not planning to marry her, isn’t it just playing with her feelings? That’s the kind of thing that ends with a kitchen knife.”

“So you don’t dare, then? Not surprising. As far as I know, you haven’t even held a girl’s hand since you were a child. According to the latest studies, if a man hasn’t had any romantic experience by the age of twenty-two, there’s a good chance he’ll remain a virgin for the rest of his life.” Kotori’s smirk was anything but friendly.

Heavens—was this really his little sister? In Commander Mode, Kotori’s tongue was as sharp as a blade, a far cry from the adorable girl she was in Sister Mode.

Yet, faced with Kotori’s goading, Su Mo finally nodded in agreement. “I accept your bet. I hope you won’t go back on your word!”

Seeing this, Kotori’s lips curled upward. She bit down on the lollipop, the sound crisp and satisfying, then swallowed it bit by bit.

…

By the time they returned to the Itsuka household, night had already fallen. Su Mo dragged his weary body inside—the day had simply been too eventful. Not only was he physically exhausted, but his spirit was drained as well. Behind him, Kotori bounced along like a shadow, her face alight with joy. Her hair ribbon had changed to white, indicating she was now in Sister Mode.

“Shiori, I’m home!” Kotori called out, her voice lively. Upon entering, she obediently removed her shoes and lined them up neatly at the entrance.

People in this country seemed to have a habit of announcing their return when coming home. Su Mo hadn’t quite gotten used to it—after all, in China, people usually just slipped quietly back to their rooms. Still, adapting to local customs, he followed suit: “I’m home!”

Shiori was alone, curled up on the sofa in the living room, her head buried in her arms. When she heard their voices, she suddenly looked up. Her gentle and lovely face was streaked with tears—for the whole day, she had been on edge, fearing for her siblings’ safety after the sudden spacequake.

“Oh, Su Mo, Kotori, you’re both safe—that’s such a relief!” Shiori sobbed, rushing over and fussing over them, checking for injuries as if to make sure they were truly unharmed.

“Shiori, I’m fine! When the spacequake happened, I evacuated to the nearest shelter with everyone else.” Kotori smiled sweetly, then used her hand to gently wipe away Shiori’s tears, clearing the redness from her eyes.

Her innocent, cheerful face gave no hint of the sharp-tongued commander she’d been just hours before.

Su Mo glanced at Kotori, still not quite able to figure out the mechanism behind her sudden shifts between Commander and Sister Mode—it was almost too abrupt to believe.

Seeing how much Shiori had worried about them, Su Mo felt a pang of guilt. He and Kotori had agreed not to tell her about the Spirits or Ratatoskr, so he could only offer a gentle lie. “Shiori, we’re both perfectly fine. Sorry for making you worry about us.”

Of course, it wasn’t as if nothing had happened. Today, Su Mo had nearly been killed by a spacequake, then almost sliced up by Tohka’s massive sword. To say he was battered and bruised would be putting it mildly, but Ratatoskr’s medical capabilities were so advanced that his injuries had healed completely within a few hours, leaving no trace at all.

“Really? That puts my mind at ease,” Shiori sighed in relief, her tense expression relaxing at last.

“Oh, that’s right—you must not have eaten yet, coming home so late. I’ll go make you something.” Flustered, Shiori hurried to the kitchen, tying on her apron in a rush.

Witnessing this scene, Kotori let out a heartfelt sigh. “Shiori really is such a gentle girl.”

“She really is,” Su Mo agreed, nodding. He glanced at Kotori and was startled to see her hair ribbon had turned black again—so, this was Commander Mode? How did she switch ribbons faster than changing expressions? It was almost terrifying.

Kotori’s round, chestnut-like eyes fixed on Su Mo and she spoke with gravity, “That’s why we absolutely, absolutely cannot let Shiori get involved in the Spirits’ affairs. Do you hear me?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect both of you. After all, I’m the only man in this family.” For the first time, Su Mo reached out in Commander Mode and patted Kotori’s head, a gentle smile on his face.

Having traveled to another world and left his parents behind, this was the first time he had truly felt the warmth of family here.

Kotori pouted, shook her head, and muttered, “Who needs your protection, idiot brother!”

But despite her words, the faint smile at her lips betrayed her true feelings.

Gazing at Kotori, a mischievous glint flashed in Su Mo’s eyes. Seizing a moment when she wasn’t paying attention, he snatched the black ribbon from her head.

“Ah?” Kotori stared, stunned, at the ribbon in his hand. Her usual commanderly composure collapsed instantly, tears welling in her eyes and her cheeks flushing bright red.

A split second later, a piercing shriek—so sharp it could shatter glass—echoed throughout the entire Itsuka home!