Apart from the fact that s.h.i.+ka"s soul might view Seiji as an intruder, there was one greater risk that he had to face.The "spell" that he was looking for.
There was the possibility of another spell being bound to the amnesicausing spell located in s.h.i.+ka"s soul in order to prevent its cancellation.
Even if his task was merely to find the spell, not dispel it, there was still some degree of risk involved.
An abundance of caution would be necessary.
…
After s.h.i.+ka woke up and ate breakfast, Seiji brought her to the room where the spell had been prepared.
After entering, the amnesiac girl scanned the entire room, her eyes wide with surprise.
She seemed to realize that something was about to happen, so she shrunk back in fright and stuck as closely to Seiji as possible.
"No need to be scared, s.h.i.+kchan," Seiji consoled her in the gentlest voice he could manage. "We"re just… going to make you have a dream, and I"ll accompany you."
"Brother…"
"It won"t hurt. It might be a little uncomfortable, but I promise that no harm will come to you."
Seiji patted s.h.i.+ka on the head, his gaze gentle yet firm.
s.h.i.+ka blinked while facing him directly.
Even though she didn"t know what was about to happen, seeing her "brother"s" firm expression helped to rea.s.sure her.
"Have a seat," Natsuya, who was beside them, requested.
The president was currently wearing shrine maiden clothing.
That"s right, it was also known as s.h.i.+nto garb! A white wide-sleeved s.h.i.+rt on top, with a long red skirt on bottom… well, its technical name was hakama. She was also wearing white socks and red-colored shoes woven from dried gra.s.s, a cla.s.sic pairing.
It was incredible for the black-haired scion with huge b.r.e.a.s.t.s to wear such an outfit!
When Seiji noticed her attire after entering the room, he was astonished to his core. If it wasn"t for the fact that s.h.i.+ka was sticking by his side, he would likely have stood there, dazed, for a full dozen seconds.
The president"s long straight black hair, white s.h.i.+rt, and red skirt were a perfect combination. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s which always jutted out, regardless of her clothing, seemed even s.e.xier than normal. The contrast between the holy impression that these clothes were originally supposed to give off and Natsuya"s devilish figure gave her an almost irresistible allure.
Seiji felt an urge to take a picture of this scene with his cell phone!
He was even willing to bet his own virginity that a picture of the president wearing this outfit would be mega popular at school! And if he tried selling the picture on the internet, perhaps he"d be able to charge a high price and make huge profits…
"Cough cough, I"m getting too far off topic here."
At any rate, she was beautiful and excellent.
It was a pity that he wasn"t able to take a picture.
Seiji was certain that if he asked permission to take a picture, she would likely reject him and perhaps even glare at him.
That was why he could only admire this scene in secret by saving it in his system.
Heh heh, his dating sim system had the ability to save CGs! Even though he almost never used it, it still seemed to be good for situations like these!
Hmm… about his dating sim system.
Privately, Seiji was a little worried about it.
Just what exactly was his dating sim system? Seiji didn"t understand.
Was this system connected to his body? Or his soul? He didn"t know this either.
He was someone who had reincarnated into an entirely different world with possession of a mysterious system. Just what would his soul look like to Natsuya? Would she find something strange in it? Or would he be unable to do such a task for s.h.i.+ka"s sake?
He was rather worried.
But just worrying about it wouldn"t be of any use; he had to… at least try.
He sat down on one of the reclining chairs, his heart still filled with worries. He indicated for s.h.i.+ka to sit down on the other chair.
"Lay down and relax. Just treat it as resting normally," Natsuya informed them in a calm voice.
Then she slowly raised her right hand. She was holding an item. Many golden bells were attached its red handle, and five ribbons of different colors were tied to its base.
As she shook this item lightly, everyone heard the sonorous sound of bells chiming.
Seiji, who had just laid down, instantly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
*Ding ling ling… Ding ling ling…*
Natsuya shook the bells rhythmically as she walked in a circle around the two chairs.
"The long night, what will you hear… Spirits and ghosts, what will you confide…"
Her calm voice began chanting some words that Seiji couldn"t make heads or tails of. He a.s.sumed it was part of her spell.
As he relaxed and laid there on the chair, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier as he listened to her incantation and the bells ringing.
He was holding on to s.h.i.+ka"s tiny hand. The two of them exchanged glances with each other.
"Brother… I"m so sleepy…"
"It"s fine, s.h.i.+kchan… It"s just a dream," Seiji comforted her gently and smiled. "Didn"t you want me to… sleep with you last night… Does this… count…?"
"Brother…"
An indescribable light shone in s.h.i.+ka"s eyes as her eyelids drooped.
Seiji was filled with numerous complex feelings as he focused on her expression.
Would they succeed? If they successfully discovered and eliminated the memory loss-inducing spell and helped her to recover her memories… would she remember what she did during her amnesiac period?
If she ended up forgetting…
Seiji would be… rather sad…
As Seiji gazed at s.h.i.+ka"s face, he felt his senses of sight and hearing gradually fade, before he finally shut his eyes as well.
…
"Wake up, Harutkun."
Seiji slowly opened his eyes as he heard someone call to him.
He discovered that he was in an unfamiliar room.
The room was rather small. There was a bed, a desk, a chair, a bookshelf, and a cabinet… and all the furniture seemed rather small as well.
There was a little girl sleeping on the bed. The dolls, building blocks, and stuffed plus.h.i.+es were either scattered about or organized neatly, indicating that this was a child"s room.
Seiji peered at the little girl closely.
"s.h.i.+kchan…"
That"s right. Although this girl was much younger than the one he knew, this was doubtlessly s.h.i.+ka Kagura.
"Where am I?" Seiji muttered to himself.
"You"re in her… s.h.i.+ka Kagura"s soul," Natsuya"s calm voice sounded in his ears.
"President? Where are you?"
Seiji glanced around at his surroundings.
"I"m still in reality, taking care of you guys," Natsuya responded. "Just as I informed you last night, I can only hear you and respond in turn."
"I won"t be aware of anything you see or meet there. I can only learn about it if you tell me. If you need me to answer any questions, or do something, you"ll have to say it clearly."
Seiji thought back to their conversation last night and nodded. She had indeed told him this.
"My brain doesn"t feel like it"s working too well… my thoughts feel rather sluggish."
"That"s because you"re still not used to being in soul form. It"ll get better once you get used to it."
Getting accustomed to it… Seiji rubbed his temples.
That"s when he realized that he wanted to take a look at his current self!
Just what type of appearance would he take on in such a situation…
Seiji looked around the room and instantly discovered a mirror.
When he took a look, the person reflected in the mirror was Seiji Haruta"s handsome face.
"This means that… even my soul has completely merged with the original Seiji Haruta"s?" He rubbed his chin in contemplation.
Well, it was all fine as long as there was nothing wrong with his soul.
The other thing that Seiji really wanted to check was… his system.
When he willed it, its familiar menu and options floated up in front of him.
It appeared!
It actually appeared!?
"I can even use my system in such a state!?" Seiji widened his eyes in surprise.
He attempted to use its functions. It seemed the same as normal. Every option was present, including his save and load ability!
What did this mean?
"Does this mean that… the dating sim system is intricately connected to my soul?"
Various thoughts flashed through Seiji"s mind.
No matter what, he felt a great sense of relief that he was able to access his system even in his soul form.
Well, that concluded his self-inspection.
It was time to do what he came to do.