Mio and Shido lived in the best apartment in a luxurious apartment building, in fact, the best apartment building in their city. Although it was technically just one single apartment, the size was no joke, as it easily took over the entire top floor by itself. It was truly the best money could buy.

Tohka was visiting their home early today. However, her objective wasn't a simple visit or to eat breakfast with them after a long time.

No, today, she thought about waking up Shido so that they could go to school together. Of course, she knew that it was too little compared to what they'd have to do for her to gain her Spirit CR-Unit, but it was a start.

"... But how should I wake up Shido?"

The first thing that came to mind was something quite naughty, so much so that Tohka's whole face got red just thinking about doing it. Again, it would have made sense to do it considering the ultimate objective, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she just shook her head and tried to forget about it.

… Still, she had to somehow appeal to Shido. Maybe she could wake him up with a sweet voice? Maybe even a wake up kiss?

"You know, Shin isn't really one to wake up late. So if you don't go in quick, your plans are going to be fooled, Tohka."

"A-ah, yeah."

Mio said as she was eating breakfast. As interesting as it was to watch young people worry needlessly about such simple things, she couldn't let it be all for nothing, so she decided to give Tohka that little help.

Tohka seemed to have made up her mind. She undid the first few buttons of her blouse, leading to her cleavage and bra being exposed. Then she got embarrassed and buttoned part of it back up. But then she realized that it would be pointless if she didn't get Shido excited, so she undid the buttons again. Once again, she got stuck in an eternal loop.

"Tohka, just be yourself. Go wake up Shin, that'll make him happy. … That said, let's undo just a few buttons to make him extra happy."

Mio got up to encourage Tohka, and also to finally have her show just enough cleavage, and then she pushed her into Shido's room.

Tohka was shaking at first, but then she let out a breath and calmed down. She was already here, she might as well see it through. She walked up to Shido's bed, slowly, careful to not take him up ahead of time.

"S-Shido, wake up."

Tohka said, but it seemed that her voice was too low to wake him up. She decided to call him again, but she wondered if maybe she shouldn't try saying something else.

"Maybe 'if you don't wake up, I'll play a p-prank on you'?"

It was a common phrase seen in anime and manga, but it made Tohka surprisingly embarrassed to say it herself. That's because of the prank she thought of. She was looking at Shido's lips. This would be a good excuse for a kiss.

Embarrassed as she was, Tohka was not against the idea of doing perverted things with Shido. She would have been if it was anyone else, but since it's Shido it's fine, convenient even.

She knew she had to do it to see her sister again and try to save her, but she couldn't help but be embarrassed. Maybe if she woke up Shido with a kiss, he would take the lead from there. She was embarrassed to do these things herself, but she would be fine with Shido doing them to her. Whatever he wanted to do, she would be fine with it.

"Shido…"

Tohka's lips approached Shido's. They were almost touching when…

"Onii-chan, I came to wake you up!"

"!"

Kotori suddenly burst through the door, and her shouting startled Shido awake. Far from a romantic wake up call, Shido and Tohka ended up bumping their heads.

"Ouch. What's- Kotori? Tohka? Eh? What are you two doing here?"

Shido was obviously confused with all the sudden events, and getting a good view of Tohka's cleavage was another surprise. Both Shido and Tohka got embarrassed.

Mio then came into the room, seeming disappointed at the results.

"Now, Kotori, I told you Tohka was already in there, and this is no way to wake up someone."

"Sorry…"

"Haa… oh well, what's done is done. I guess we can always try again tomorrow."

"... W-what's going on here?"

Ignoring Shido's confusion, Mio told him to go brush his teeth and take a bath to have breakfast with them.

/

"So, Itsuka-kun, what brings you here today?"

"Oh shut up, Tonomachi. Can't I come and have lunch with a friend every now and then?"

Later, during lunch break at school, Shido was having lunch with his friend Hiroto Tonomachi instead of the girls.

Despite what he said, it wasn't really a choice he made. Tohka said she wanted to talk with the other girls and asked Shido to give them some time. He imagined it was some kind of girl talk, so that's why he came here today.

Well, it's not as if he dislikes Hiroto, they are friends and he is nice company. Still, the company of beautiful girls is preferable for a young man like Shido.

"Since you're here, why don't you tell me about the NWET? Surely you've got some spicy stories."

"T-there's no way."

Shido blushed, remembering his little event with Origami just the other day. Of course, to Hiroto, that simply told him he had hit the bullseye.

Well, it would be unnatural if Shido didn't say anything. Of course, he knew there were things he couldn't talk about, like the Demon Kings or anything related to his ability, but he figured he could humor his friend with some stories… maybe even embellish them a little.

At the same time, somewhere else.

"Origami, w-what did you do to get your Spirit CR-Unit?"

Tohka asked that, but it was also something that Kaguya and Yuzuru, who were with them, wanted to know. After all, it's simple enough to say that they have to get Shido excited, but knowing what actually worked would be a much better guide.

A bit of red appeared on Origami's doll-like face, which surprised the other girls. For a second, they thought she wouldn't speak out of embarrassment, but they were wrong.

"We kissed. Also, I showed my breasts to Shido and had him grab them."

Origami said as if it was nothing much, but the other three girls seemed to disagree and blushed as if they were seeing the scene in front of their very eyes. Only Yuzuru seemed to look at Origami with an expression of admiration.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Tohka tried to confirm what Origami said, as if she didn't believe it.

"Really?!"

"Yes."

Once again, Tohka was stunned into silence. She began to imagine if she could do the same herself.

"A-amazing."

"Admiration. As expected of Origami, no, please let me call you master Origami."

The twins were also getting a little embarrassed at the thought of doing the same as Origami, though clearly not as much as Tohka.

Seeing that Tohka was about to blow steam from her ears, Origami decided to throw her a bone.

"My compatibility was originally 1%. Maybe you won't need to do as much."

"R-right…"

Part of Tohka felt better after hearing that, but another part didn't. Would it be fine to not do as much just because she didn't have to? It's not like she didn't want to. Wouldn't she run the risk of losing Shido to the others?

Tohka was confused by her own feelings and everything else that was going on. She didn't know what to do or how to do it.

"Y-Yuzuru! We're the Children of Hurricane, we can't let ourselves get passed by like this! The best defense is a good offense, let's seize the attack first!"

"Agreement. There's still some time left on lunch break. But, Kaguya, Yuzuru thinks you got the wrong saying."

"Eh? A-anyway, let's go."

And so the twins dashed off to go look for Shido. Origami and Tohka were left alone.

Certain thoughts passed by Origami's mind. She touched the Sephira ring that was still in that very special finger as she thought things over.

Although it might seem strange, the two of them were friends. Yes, at first the only thing between them was a rivalry when it came to Shido, but with time that developed into some kind of friendship. Besides, Origami understood that there was a lot going through Tohka's head at the moment, with her sister suddenly being found and everything, so she felt like she wanted to help.

"Tohka, what do you think of Shido?"

"Huh? I… I…"

Tohka was a bit confused by Origami's question. So Origami decided to be a little more specific.

"I love Shido. I can't tell exactly when it happened in the many years I've known him, but I know I do. I wouldn't be doing this kind of thing with someone else, even for a Spirit CR-Unit."

Finally understanding what Origami was talking about, Tohka decided to also open her heart.

"Umu, I also love him. I was really sad when I thought I lost Tenka, but he supported me, even though we didn't even know each other at the time. From there, I think it just kinda grew. I also wouldn't even consider doing this with someone else."

"Then, maybe this whole thing is convenient for us. There's no need to fight each other. Why don't you come with me later when I ask Shido to use his ability on me again?"

Shido's ability only gave a temporary boost that lasted for about a day. So Origami would have to keep asking Shido for help, though that hardly seemed to be considered a problem.

Tohka nodded slightly. Maybe with Origami's help she'd be able to push herself.

…

Incidentally, Kaguya and Yuzuru did find Shido and took him to an isolated corner, but the two of them got too embarrassed and ended up wasting the rest of lunch break.

/

After school, on the way to the NWET headquarters.

Tohka and Origami had gone ahead, leaving Shido to go with Kaguya and Yuzuru. However, for whatever reason, they decided to race to the building, so Shido, who couldn't keep up, was left behind alone.

That said, Shido was not currently alone. No, he was walking alongside Miku.

"... Hmph."

"... Haaah."

The reason for this riveting conversation, as well as the two of them walking together in the first place, was quite simple.

On his way, Shido saw Miku being surrounded by a group of guys. He quickly saw how her face seemed frightened, despite her seeming to try to keep calm, so he decided he should help her.

At first, he thought that pretending to be her boyfriend, and that she had been waiting for him, would be enough. He could have sworn it always was in manga and anime.

But reality wasn't so kind. The men told him to leave, but Shido obviously couldn't do that. He wasn't really confident enough to throw hands, but he did consider the possibility should push come to shove.

But it ended up being unneeded. Maybe one of the men saw something or remembered something, but he convinced the others to just leave. And so, Shido and Miku continued on their way together.

"... Hey, do you want to go to a police station?"

"... Why?"

"Why? Well, I think it's probably best to at least report it-"

"Not that. Why did you try to help me? Was it just so you could use it against me later?"

Shido didn't understand where Miku's accusation came from, but he tried to respond to her with a cool head.

"I don't think I did anything that people wouldn't normally do. And if you don't want to, I'll never mention it again. I don't know why you don't like me, but I have nothing against you."

"You would say that, but men are all the same! You're just looking for an opening to use me and everyone else!"

After she said that, Miku started running off. Worried, Shido went after her. Seeing that Shido was after her, Miku started walking through the alleyways.

But she ended up tripping and falling, and it looked quite bad. Shido ran to her side to check on her.

"Are you fine?"

"I'm, ouch."

Miku tried to get up, but she couldn't. Her knee was scraped, enough to be bleeding. And it also looked like she sprained her ankle.

Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it looked. A little bit with a medical Realizer would fix her up like nothing had happened. Shido helped Miku get up and supported her with his shoulder.

Of course, quite a few eyes turned towards them as they made their way, but Shido didn't care about that. He simply focused on helping Miku.

Miku herself said nothing, but she seemed to be thinking. Not wanting to be the victim of her accusations again, Shido also kept silent for the rest of their walk.

"... Thanks."

That was all Miku said, in a voice so low Shido almost didn't catch it, when he left her in the medical Realizer room. He thought about waiting for her, but he was so confused that he just decided to keep going.

"Seriously, I don't understand her. Maria, Marina, can I go to the changing room now?"

After Shido made his way to the new part of the building, he asked the AI assistants. He knew some of the girls had arrived ahead of him, so he imagined they had already finished changing, but he figured it was best to confirm it.

[Right now, the changing room is-]

[Yeah, should be good. Go on, Shido, before Miku arrives and starts another discussion.]

Although he had a bad feeling, especially given that Marina cut off Maria, the thought of getting into another argument with Miku made Shido hurry on his way to the changing room.

But he should have listened to his own instincts, because what awaited him in the changing room was… if he was being frank, a nice scene.

"...!"

"Ara."

Kurumi and Maya were there. Kurumi was in her underwear, and Maya only had her panties on, so she quickly covered her breasts once she noticed Shido.

Of course, it was quite a sight for sore eyes, but Shido didn't exactly have the courage to just watch them.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

[Girls, Shido and Miku had a bit of a discussion. Do you mind if he changes with you?]

"Ara ara, Miku-san can be quite a handful. You're more than welcome to join, Shido."

"... I was a bit surprised, but I don't mind either."

Marina skillfully cornered Shido. Now that he had even been given permission, he couldn't simply just walk out.

He decided to just get this over with, so he went to where his locker was and began to take off his school uniform. Of course, taking off his shoes and socks, jacket, shirt, and even his pants was fairly easy, and it helped him avoid trying to sneak a peek at the girls, but then he arrived at the problematic part.

He had to get naked, even if for only a second, to put on his plugsuit. Although it was a very simple and quick thing to do, he found it surprisingly difficult.

As he was wondering what to do, Shido noticed that Maya was just standing there looking at him. She seemed to have already finished changing, but she wasn't moving.

However, once she noticed he had seen her, she blushed and left the room.

"I'll go on ahead."

Shido felt like his job had become a bit easier after Maya left. He was about to pull down his underwear when he remembered Kurumi was still there.

"Ara, what's the problem, Shido-san? Do you need help?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

"In that case, I would appreciate your help."

Kurumi had her back turned towards Shido, she was no longer in underwear, but her plugsuit was still not on. In other words, she was naked, though she had her back turned to Shido, so he couldn't see much more than her well-shaped butt, slightly covered by her long hair.

It was as if Kurumi couldn't put it on herself, but that was obviously not the case, so Shido could only imagine this was another attempt at getting him to use his ability with her. If that really was the case, then it couldn't be helped. Or so Shido told himself as he went to help Kurumi.

Kurumi lifted a leg, and Shido placed the plugsuit on the right spot, then she lifted the other leg and Shido finished putting the suit where it should be. Now Shido had to raise the suit. Of course, the angle from below was quite privileged. He was torn between wanting to look and not, but one side quickly won over the other.

Luckily, he was soon finished with raising the suit and putting the straps over Kurumi's shoulders. Shido let out a sigh with a job well done, although Kurumi fixing her suit right in front of him didn't exactly help him. Also, the revealing nature of the suit made it hard for Shido to look at Kurumi after what he'd just seen.

"Thank you, Shido-san."

Kurumi said and then kissed Shido on the cheek and hugged him. Physical contact was necessary for his ability to work, so he decided to enjoy, I mean, let it be for a while.

But then, Kurumi whispered in his ear "also…" and then, as soon as she separated from him, she pulled down his underwear in one go. Shido didn't even understand what had happened at first, but Kurumi wasted no time in observing Shido's package, licking her lips.

"Ara, I'm honored. Ufufu, it seems that this will be more fun than I thought. But let's leave it here for now."

And so Kurumi left, and Shido was stunned in place for quite a while after that.

[Kurumi's compatibility is currently at 9.1%. Unfortunately, Shido, it wasn't enough this time.]

[You should be more aggressive. She was clearly willing, you should have had her help you as well.]

"D-don't tell me what to do! Also, don't get me into this kind of mess to begin with! I'm disappointed that you didn't warn me, Maria."

[I apologize, Shido.]

[Hey, we're just doing our jobs. If you did yours properly, you'd be thanking us.]

Sometimes, Shido had his doubts if Maria and Marina really were just AIs or if Mio had gotten two girls to play with him. Regardless, he might as well take this chance to get changed.

Just as he thought that, the door was opened yet again. As luck would have it, it was Miku who entered, and the sight that greeted her was of Shido's proudly standing masculinity.

Her eyes widened, unable to tear away from that place. Unfortunately, this was not the start of another erotic scene.

"Kyaaaaa!"

Miku's scream echoed through the whole section of the building.

/

"So… what are we supposed to do again?"

After a little while of training, Karen asked for Shido to come along with her, as well as a few volunteers of the Spirit Team. Kotori, Yoshino and Natsumi were the first ones to offer themselves.

Right now, they had unequipped their CR-Units and moved to a different part of the building, where Mildred was waiting for them.

"This is research into your ability, Shido. When you first used your Territory, Maria and Marina actually recorded a small increase in everyone's compatibility. We're planning to look into that now."

"I see… and you're all fine with helping."

"Y-yes…!"

"If you don't mind me…"

"Of course I don't mind being with onii-chan!"

Shido figured it was best to ask clearly, but the girls' answers were about what he expected. Although Shido understood how big this could be if he could also use his Territory with his ability, part of Shido felt sad at losing the chance at the close contact with the girls.

But of course, he wouldn't voice it out. After Mildred measured Kotori and the others' current compatibility, they were divided into groups. Yoshino and Natsumi would be the ones helping with the Territory bit, and Kotori would act as a control.

"Now, let's begin with what we already know. Shido, use your ability with Kotori."

"E-even if you say that…"

Shido was at a bit of a loss over what to do, but the same wasn't true for Kotori. She immediately jumped at Shido into a hug, pressing her body on his. Although Kotori was a few years younger than Shido, she was a beautiful girl, and she was becoming more and more charming by the day.

Just feeling Kotori's softness pressed on him was enough to activate Shido's ability, but Kotori wasn't satisfied with just that. She whispered to him:

"Onii-chan… I love you. So you can do as you want with me."

She said, and then kissed Shido. It was a simple peck of the lips, and Kotori soon retracted in embarrassment, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

"Alright. Our current objective isn't to get you your Spirit CR-Unit, so let's cut it here for now."

After Karen said that, Kotori separated from Shido. Mildred let out a "ooh!" as if she was watching an interesting TV drama.

Karen told Shido to equip Da'at, as he'd have to use his Territory now, so he did. Then, she told him to envelop Natsumi in his Territory.

"..."

"Mn…"

They stayed like that for a few minutes, then Karen told Shido to focus his Territory just on Natsumi.

Needless to say, there was the obvious embrace-like sensation of the Territory, but it felt too little compared to everything else so far. So much so that Shido purposefully tried to look at Natsumi in a lewd way by taking advantage of the plugsuit's high exposure rate.

After a while, Karen asked Shido to stop, and Yoshino took Natsumi's place. Considering how red Natsumi's cheeks were, she probably noticed what Shido tried to do, so he decided he should apologize later.

For the next few minutes, he did the same thing with Yoshino. Shido was beginning to wonder if this was really fine, even if it was for an experiment.

"Hmm… there seems to definitely be an increase on the compatibility, but it's too slow. Kotori's raised by 0.1%, while neither Natsumi nor Yoshino have reached that much. Could it be that the physical contact makes this much of a difference?"

"So ultimately, our research told us that we need more research, huh… oh well, since we're already here, Shido, could you hug Yoshino while keeping up your Territory?"

Shido didn't understand what Karen had asked him to do for a second, but then it clicked for him. It would be a way to confirm Mildred's theory about physical contact, or maybe it was an attempt at overlapping what they knew worked with what they were still researching.

Regardless, given that what they had to do was just hug, and it already felt like they were doing it with the Territory, there seemed to be no reason not to. Still, Shido thought it would be best to ask first.

"Are you fine with it, Yoshino?"

"Y-yes… please come, Shido-san."

Shido approached and hugged Yoshino. The metal parts of Da'at made it less enjoyable than with Kotori, where only the plugsuit got in their way, but he was also trying to think lewd things now, so maybe it would balance out.

"Natsumi, join in."

"M-me? Alright…"

Natsumi timidly followed Karen's order. Again, Da'at was ruining what could have been a really enjoyable moment for Shido, but Mildred and Karen seemed very interested in whatever it was they were seeing on their screen.

After about a minute or so, Karen called out the end of the experiment.

"Not exactly unexpected, but there was an interesting discovery. I'll report it to Mio first, but-"

Just as Karen was about to talk, a certain noise started blaring out. It was an alarm, and a well-known one at that.

It was a Spacequake alarm.