Chapter 62: Marina's Virtual Reality

"Erhh …"

With his consciousness returned, Shido rubbed his eyes and opened them slowly. He realized that he was in the living room of his own home in Tengu City!

"So the starting point is home like last time?"

Looking at the familiar yet strange place, a mixed feeling built up in his heart. He admired Marina's attention to detail when it came to interior design, she even included the kitchen and the dining area just like he remembered.

"Welcome home, Shido Itsuka."

His train of thoughts was interrupted by a petite girl dressing in black nun clothes.

"Hey Marina, it's nice to be back."

Shido nodded and smiled.

Slightly different from the Tsundere characteristic earlier, Marina acted like a normal girl inside her crush's home. It seemed that she was enjoying time alone with him.

"This place is just a simulation, so don't get too comfortable."

But then she dropped the bomb, reminding him that this was just a virtual reality, not his actual home.

Just then, as if switching channels on a television, the scenery around him changed dramatically, and the familiar living room was replaced by a spacious stadium. He was in the center of the track field.

"Where are we?"

"The Olympics Stadium of Tokyo 2020! If we were at home, you wouldn't be able to concentrate."

No, this is distracting enough.

Shido commented in his mind.

"… Anyway, starting today, I will conduct harsh training sessions for you."

"Harsh training?"

Marina nodded and continued.

"That's right, so you can utilize the powers of your Spirits/Harem. If I were to name this operation, I shall call it [Rising of the XXX Swordsman]!"

"No no no, it's okay to keep it nameless!"

Shido yelled with embarrassment.

"I'm okay with training, but why so sudden…"

Speaking of training, he was no stranger to it. In the beginning of his second year in high school, he was forced to play trashy Gal Games designed by questionable game masters, or communicate with girls for the purpose of improving his adaptability toward the opposite sex.

Thus, he questioned the legality of Ratatoskr for quite a period of time; after all, what kind of organization in their right mind would consider "Pick-up Artist" the salvation of mankind?

Now that he was presented with a formal training, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

"Sudden? I'm just curious: How come nobody proposed something like this before?"

Sighing lightly, Marina stared at Shido with her golden pupils, her eyes filled with seriousness.

"Or rather, what makes you think that you, the Harem King of Spirits, don't need to improve your strength?"

"Emm…"

Shido couldn't refute.

Indeed, never once did he plan on training his combat abilities. He solely focused on hiding them as much as possible, hoping not to cause trouble in his surroundings. Only when it was absolutely necessary would he activate them.

"Initially, Ratatoskr urged you to improve social skills with Spirits, but neglected the importance of controlling those sealed reiryoku. I understand where they were coming from, after all, you don't want to take advantage of those powers, not to mention that they are quite dangerous. Also, if you were exploiting those powers for your own benefits, it would make you a hypocrite in the eyes of the Spirits. But—"

At this point, the tone of her voice changed.

"—these powers are also crucial to defend you and your family!"

Shido held his breath as he took in Marina's words.

"You sealed the Spirits and took them in, so you became responsible for them, right? When the DEM emerged, why didn't you train your combat abilities? And now Ren has become a threat, yet you are still idling around."

"Oh, don't tell me that you expect Rinne and Mayuri to save your ass again! What are you, a dickless pansy?"

Marina's words were really harsh, but overly accurate, to the point of driving Shido flabbergasted. But instead of letting the irreversible happen, she would rather be the villain and expose his weakness early.

And then he had a moment of clarity:

Mukuro and Miku were saved only because Rinne and Mayuri intervened. If it weren't for them, he might have already been dead, minus his girls.

Yet he was naive enough to think that he could live a normal life in this incredibly suspicious Neighboring World.

He now felt nothing but shame.

Am I really protecting everyone properly?

He sat on the ground and asked himself solemnly.

Marina was not pushy, simply sat next to him. She knew that he needed time to think. Sealing Spirits and keeping them happy weren't the end of everything, he also needed to protect them from internal and external threats. It wasn't something that he could go over shortly.

"Haaaa—"

After God knows how long, Shido exhaled a long breath and looked at Marina.

"Marina."

"Yes?"

"I want to protect everyone, along with our peaceful daily life."

"Yes."

Although he had used the powers of Angels many times, he never took them seriously enough to train himself against potential threats. But, no more!

"So please, help me gain powers that can achieve this."

The corner of Marina's lips curled up slightly.

"As expected of Shido Itsuka, you don't disappoint at all. So, prepare yourself!"

"Yes!"

Looking at Shido's clear and unwavering eyes, Marina sighed softly. Personally, she hoped that he would never get involved with this mess. But with current situations, it seemed to be inevitable.

As his trainer, she might as well do her worst.

For starters, she held out her hands, and her body was illuminating in a blinding flash of light. Before long, she had successfully transformed her clothes from a black modest nun dress to a surprisingly lewd one, revealing quite a large portion of her bosom, waist, and limbs.

Shido averted his gaze instantly.

"Lesson one, never drop your guard!"

But, Marina seized this opportunity and fired an electrifying bolt.

Despite not looking at her, Shido jumped up at the last second and managed to evade that. But, he was exposed in midair as an easy target.

As if on cue, multiple energy orbs shot toward him from different directions.

Summoning a giant sword in his hands, he slashed them into pieces one by one, leaving only particles of the aftermath that eventually evaporated in the air. The Angel of Sword, [Sandalphon], really lived up to its reputation.

However, he felt a strong force pulling his beloved Angel away, it was so sudden that he couldn't even hold on to it, and it flew out of his hands a second later.

A giant magnet appeared on the ground and attracted the sword!

"What the duck…"

Shido uttered in shock.

Before he could react, Marina had already dashed toward him with open arms, as if trying to embrace him.

Shido thought so as well, until he saw her shooting out dozens of coils and wrapping them around his body—-

"—Electrocution!"

"Arhhhhhhhh!"

She activated her specialty and made every cell of Shido's body feel the thrill of being shocked!

Shortly, he groaned in great pain and fell to the ground.

"1st Fight: Fail!"

Marina took a knee beside his fallen body while making a ghost face playfully.

"I created the magnet via the principles of electromagnetism. Pretty cool, right?"

Shido, however, fainted as he was still under the effect of getting shocked, but fortunately, no injuries occurred onto his body.

"Did I overdo it?"

She frowned and leaned down on him, closing the distance between their faces.

"I will go easier on you next time…ah~"

Tentatively placing one hand on his sleeping face, she let out a soft sigh and smiled contentedly. This was a rare moment for her, and she couldn't let it slip away.

"…so please, don't hate me…for being rough, hmm—"

Feeling a bit bolder, she closed her eyes and placed a gentle kiss on his right cheek. But when she withdrew and opened her eyes…

Four eyes met.

"…"

"…"

Dead silence.

"…how long was I—"

"YAAAA!"

Marina quickly got up with a flushed face.

"On your feet! You look like a sorry little bitch right now!"

She gave his butt a rough kick, before taking a few steps backward.

"Ouch! Was it something I said…"

Shido just opened his eyes, but he got kicked for no reason. If one thing, he did feel his right cheek a bit warm and wet.

But before he could stand up straight, he saw hundreds of electric orbs enlarging in his vision…

…

Evening.

"Ouch…"

Shido groaned in pain as he rubbed his neck.

He had fought Marina dozens of times earlier today, and never once did he defeat her in combat. He had to admit, she was the best teacher in this field.

Spirits could activate their powers naturally like breathing, but when being asked about how they utilized it, most of them could not give a proper answer.

For example, if you were to ask Tohka how to use [Sandalphon], she would most likely shout "Ah!" and "Dahhh!" while swinging her arms.

However, Marina could utilize her abilities to the maximum potential, considering that she was in her home world. She could use all sorts of tricks related to electricity and data hacking, not to mention being good in both close-range and long-distance combat. Shido tried all ten of his Angels, but none of them worked well against her.

Marina was playing him like a fiddle.

Thankfully, she set up a pain threshold in this virtual world, making sure that it wouldn't reach an extent that Shido couldn't bear.

Despite that, she still punched, kicked, tied, and slashed him repeatedly. But, what she enjoyed the most doing was electrocuting him!

In their last fight, that was exactly what she did.

But this time, Shido remembered what he learned in science and transformed his body into rubber(like Luffy from One Piece). Since it was an insulator, it nullified her electricity attack!

In the meantime, he pulled on the coils and hugged her tightly so that she couldn't escape.

Marina blushed deeply, feeling her head growing dizzy. Since this was a virtual reality, steam started flowing from the top of her head!

Shido was surprised by this turn of events, so he quickly let her go, asking if she was alright.

Hearing his concerned voice, she glared at him and bit his neck hard!

Shido cried out in pain, while she secured herself some distance from him.

"I will call that a draw, but still, very pathetic, baka!"

Marina snapped her fingers with a disgruntled look. In the next moment, the two were teleported back to the Itsuka Residence, the original one in Tengu City.

Shido looked around and felt nostalgic again.

How much longer will I return home for real?

He thought dimly; he really missed being home with everyone. The pain in his neck didn't really matter anymore.

"System Call: Generate casual clothes"

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded his eyes, and when he turned his head, he saw Marina changing into her stay-at-home outfits.

"Take a seat, I will make you something to eat."

She grabbed an apron and wrapped it around her slender body, before walking toward the kitchen.

"Really? I thought you would summon a sandwich and settle with that."

Shido was surprised.

"Even if this is a virtual world, I want to make sure cooking works the same way as in reality," she explained as she took out a frying pan, her eyes looking away, "after all, it will be boring to have them ready instantly."

It's not because I want to cook for you or anything, baka….

She thought dimly, and it was something that she would never say aloud.

"Wait, let me help then."

Shido quickly followed her and solicited.

"Save your strength, you are barely standing."

"No no, cuisinart is my expertise."

In the face of her criticism, he still would not give an inch.

She stared at him for a while, before sighing in defeat.

"Fine, you lost to me many times on the battlefield, so I guess I will tolerate you once." She grabbed another apron and handed it to him, before she added. "But remember, it's only because I allowed you to!"

"Right right, I will make sure not to drag you down~"

Shido smiled sheepishly.

"Humph!"

Marina snorted while averting his gaze, though the corner of her lips seemed to be rising slightly.

"System Call: Generate ingredients for dinner"

With that, more ingredients magically appeared. There was raw meat, vegetables, and some seasonings.

Such a convenient ability…. No need to go shopping.

Shido smiled contentedly.

…

Thirty minutes later.

"Itadakimasu!" X 2

Shido and Marina started digging in.

Cooking together really made the preparation a lot easier, and eating the food they made together right afterward? It pleasured their taste buds on a heavenly level!

"How long do we need to train here?"

Shido asked curiously. It was a sound question, since he wanted to know the time limit.

"It depends on how well you hone your reiryoku."

Marina answered as she fed herself another slice of chicken.

"But didn't I get you earlier?"

He grinned.

"I let you catch me off guard! Otherwise, you would cry yourself to sleep tonight!"

Marina pouted unhappily.

After dinner, the two of them did the dishes together. They truly looked like newlyweds.

Marina thought of this for a brief moment, her heart beating faster and her hands slowing down.

"I got this, Marina."

Shido grabbed the last plate, which was in Marina's hands, and cleansed it skillfully. He had done this thousands of times, so it was a piece of cake for him.

Marina lowered her head, listening to the sound of the flushing water quietly.

After arranging the plates on the shelf and drying off his hands, he noticed something was up with her.

"What's wrong, Marina?"

Shido patted Marina's head and asked.

"Ya!"

But, out of embarrassment, the shy girl ran to the bathroom quickly. Before going inside, however, she turned around and shouted:

"Wash up and go to sleep! Tomorrow's training won't be this easy!"

With that, she locked the door and turned on the showers.

"Good night, Marina."

Shido called out with a smile, and headed to his room for cleanup too.

After he went inside, Marina opened the door slightly, her pair of golden eyes peeking through the gap.

"…good night…"

…

A/N:

Marina is a typical Tsundere lol, but she deserves some love as well.

Just wondering, how come Tachibana never let Shido train in combat? If he did, he wouldn't be killed 204 times in vol.16!