I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

"Origami! Don't be reckless!"

Kusakabe Ryōko's face paled.

Among her squad, the most talented — and simultaneously the most problematic — child, Origami Tobiichi, had completely ignored her orders and launched a direct assault on the Spirit on the ground.

As she closed the distance, Origami fired continuously using the tactical equipment-mounted firearms.

However, no matter how dense the bullets, no matter how powerful the missiles, none of it could pierce even that thin layer of shielding.

Origami wasn't surprised.

She had already seen this scene replay too many times.

She never expected these toy-like weapons to be capable of harming the Spirit before her.

In the next moment, Origami drew a beam saber.

The weapon, called "No Pain," was standard equipment for AST members — condensing mana from the manifestation device into a solid blade.

Every AST operative was required to master the "No Pain" before being permitted into combat.

Origami's eyes — usually as still and lifeless as a stagnant pond — only ever flickered with strong emotion when facing Spirits.

And that emotion was hatred.

Even though, at Shidou's request, Origami had made repeated efforts to coexist peacefully with Spirits like Yatogami Tohka, and though her hatred had gradually softened over time, she still refused to let it go.

In battle against a Spirit, she would pick that hatred back up again.

Her gaze blazed like fire as she locked onto Melusine's back.

Igniting the propulsion systems on her back, Origami moved with ruthless precision, aiming a clean, lethal strike at Melusine's neck.

What was surprising was that the moment she swung her saber, the barrier that had blocked all previous attacks simply vanished — without resistance.

Origami found this development strange, but with her full power behind the swing, it was impossible to stop.

The blade of condensed mana slammed straight against Melusine's slender, white neck.

And then—

A monstrous shockwave nearly ripped the saber from Origami's grasp.

It was like striking something unimaginably solid.

Her right arm jerked upward uncontrollably. Though she managed to hold onto the saber, the price was temporary numbness spreading through her arm.

Her mind blanked, unable to process what had just happened.

Even if Melusine had simply parried with the short blade on her arm, the reaction shouldn't have been this overwhelming.

Yet the truth was — Origami's blade had struck true.

Directly. Against Melusine's neck.

In the split second Origami stood frozen—

A hand suddenly reached out and seized her saber.

Not gripping the hilt like Origami had,

but grasping the blade itself — the concentrated mana blade capable of slicing through steel.

And under Origami's dazed gaze—

The hand clenched slightly.

The beam saber shattered like glass.

Scattering motes of light and metallic shards everywhere.

Along with it, it felt as though Origami's entire worldview and pride had been shattered too.

In the next instant, a powerful strike to her abdomen robbed her of consciousness.

"Apologies," Melusine murmured softly. "I'm a bit pressed for time."

She caught the unconscious Origami mid-fall and gently laid her on the ground.

Just moments ago, she had finished setting the memory seal inside Miku Izayoi's mind.

Now, she just needed to find a safe place to release this troublesome yuri Spirit.

I have no intention of harming anyone,

Melusine thought as she glanced up at the sky.

If they would simply withdraw quietly, it would make my life a lot easier.

But she knew, even if she shouted that up to the heavens, it would fall on deaf ears.

Seeing Origami taken down in an instant, Kusakabe Ryōko and the entire AST squad became visibly enraged — and seemed ready to swarm her in a suicidal charge.

...Sigh.

Melusine let out a small breath.

Looks like I'll have to get a bit rough to calm them down.

Since she couldn't afford to accidentally hurt Origami, all the AST members approached wielding beam sabers, each protected by personal kinetic fields known as Random Domains.

After sighing, Melusine's eyes sharpened.

For a fleeting instant, golden vertical pupils — filled with absolute majesty — flashed in her gaze.

"I already said it once... but sorry, I'm in a hurry."

With a light push off the ground, Melusine shot into the air like an inverted meteor, piercing the sky.

In just a fraction of a second, the blue streak she left behind triggered sonic booms.

Sword light — cool and pale as moonlight reflected on water — flashed across the battlefield.

In the same moment, every AST member's Random Domain shattered into fragments.

The speed was so overwhelming that it gave the illusion their defenses had all collapsed simultaneously.

And once their Random Domains were gone, the sheer shockwaves from Melusine's supersonic movement tossed them all away like leaves in a storm.

In an instant—

AST, annihilated.

Melusine hovered in the air, looking down at the scattered, unconscious AST members, pondering whether she'd gone too far.

These were girls who, at an age when they should have been enjoying school life, had picked up weapons and undergone brutal training — all to prevent others from dying at the hands of Spirits.

Among them, there were many like Origami Tobiichi — girls who had lost parents to Spirit-related incidents.

Of course, Origami was still a very special case...

Her history.

The identity of the Spirit who had killed her parents.

The reason behind it all...

Everything about her situation was extraordinarily twisted.

Having watched the story unfold, Melusine could only think: What a cursed fate.

The Spirit who had killed Origami's parents...

was none other than Origami herself — from the future.

Seriously, props to Tachibana Koushi for coming up with that mess.

If characters could cross into the real world, Origami would probably strangle the author a few times over.

Now that I think about it... wasn't there a gag story where Natsumi met the author and immediately threatened to throttle him too? Though in that case, it was the protagonist pretending to be Natsumi...

Touching down lightly on the ground, Melusine picked up the still-unconscious Miku Izayoi and began to leave the area.

As for the AST girls lying sprawled across the battlefield...

There shouldn't be anyone who would harm them.

Whether or not they'd get reprimanded for losing so quickly —

that wasn't something Melusine could control.

---

That afternoon, Itsuka Shidou opened the door to the Spirit Apartment.

Immediately, two welcoming voices greeted him.

"Shidou...san... welcome home..."

"Yo! Shidou! How was your date with Tohka today? Did you take your first step onto the stairway to adulthood?"

"I'm back, Yoshino, Yoshinon."

Shidou smiled at Yoshinon — though what he saw inside left him a little stunned.

It was normal to see Yoshinon watching TV.

Unlike Yatogami Tohka or the Yamai twins, who needed to attend school, Yoshinon was still too young — or at least, her outward appearance and emotional development were too young — to be suited for school life.

So she usually stayed in the Spirit Apartment, binging soap operas.

Shidou had always worried a little about her — whether being left alone at home might make her lonely.

Luckily, during the summer break, the apartment was livelier.

And now, with Lancelot around, even after school resumed, Yoshinon wouldn't be alone.

Though Lancelot often wandered off to help people at random, that warmheartedness was precisely why Shidou trusted her to look after Yoshinon.

But now—

Yoshinon was sitting on Lancelot's lap, arms wrapped tightly around her neck in a very close, affectionate pose.

"Shidou-san..."

A soft blush spread across Yoshinon's slightly baby-fat cheeks — maybe because she was shy under Shidou's gaze.

Melusine turned her head toward him, her expression calm and composed, putting people at ease.

"Welcome home... meow."

"...Meow?"

Shidou blinked, wide-eyed, visible shock on his face.

It wasn't until Yoshinon's loud teasing rang out that he snapped out of it.

"Yaa~! Shidou, trying to act cute like Lancelot? Lancelot being cute is adorable — when you do it, it's just creepy! People would think you're a weirdo with some kink~!"

"I wasn't copying! I was just... really surprised!"

Rubbing his face in exasperation, Shidou frowned and turned to the ever-serene Melusine.

"Lancelot, what's going on?"

"Nothing much. I was playing a game with Kaguya earlier... meow."

Melusine answered coolly, without much change in her tone.

"Before, I said I was the strongest in every field. Kaguya refused to believe me and challenged me."

"Since her Spirit powers are sealed, we had to compete in non-combat games — chess, cards, riddles, and so on... meow."

"Apparently, before meeting you, Shidou, Kaguya had already competed in hundreds of games against Yuzuru, so she knew a lot of different types."

"We played a few matches — and each one had punishments for the loser... meow."

"I lost to Kaguya once."

"As her prize, she made me end every sentence with 'meow' for half an hour."

Shidou nodded slowly, piecing the situation together.

At that moment, the rabbit puppet Yoshinon chimed in:

"Lancelot, you forgot to add 'meow' just now."

"...Meow."

"Fufu~! That's better! So cute, Lancelot... fufufufu!"

Yoshinon pressed her paws to her mouth, shoulders shaking with giggles she could barely contain.

Even though Melusine's face remained impassive, the subtle pause in her words betrayed her internal struggle.

"Ahaha..."

Shidou gave an awkward chuckle, sweeping his eyes around the room.

"So... where's Kaguya?"

"Kaguya went out," Yoshinon answered, her tone full of suppressed glee.

"And it was Lancelot who sent her!"

"Huh?"

Shidou looked at Melusine in confusion.

"I didn't 'send her away,' per se."

Melusine flicked Yoshinon lightly on the forehead before explaining:

"Although Kaguya beat me once, she lost to me thirteen times."

"So, as part of her punishments, I sent her to a bakery nine streets over to buy me some pineapple bread."

"While she's gone, I'm thinking about the remaining twelve punishments... meow."

That last "meow" completely wiped away Melusine's normally cool and elegant aura.

Yoshinon once again covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling violently with laughter.

Emmmm... kind of makes me want to send Kaguya through the Twelve Labors...

The idea popped into Melusine's mind out of nowhere.

Of course, it wasn't realistic.

There were no Nemean Lions or Hydra monsters roaming around this world.

...Wait a minute. Maybe it's not impossible...

Melusine remembered — she possessed the Salvation Divine Blade.

It contained within it the weapons of all the gods.

Among them, there should be relics related to Typhon — the progenitor of countless monsters in Greek mythology.

Typhon was famous for siring many legendary beasts with Echidna:

the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, Ladon, and more.

He even once defeated Zeus himself and ripped out his tendons.

Thus, if Melusine used Typhon's relic, it might be possible to create replicas of those mythological monsters.

After all, in this world, Greek mythology and other divine pantheons truly existed, and divine relics gained actual power here.

Of course, the replicas wouldn't be as powerful as the original monsters from legend —

but they would be strong enough.

Whether Typhon qualified as a "god" was debatable, but given how chaotic mythologies were in the world of Campione! —

even Siegfried had become a god.

Why couldn't Typhon be one too?

He was the child of Gaia and Tartarus, after all — arguably more "divine" than Siegfried.

Using Typhon's weapon to forge monsters for a modern Twelve Labors challenge...

Honestly, it's a super tempting idea.

But there's still a problem — Takamiya Mio.

As long as Mio existed, Melusine couldn't afford to stir up too much chaos in this world.

This world was truly bizarre —

the gap between the strongest being and the rest of humanity was like an abyss.

Mio alone could wipe out human civilization without lifting a finger.

And the worst part was —

she wasn't even an ally.

She was a final boss.

If not for the fact that Mio was a total romantic fool obsessed with resurrecting Mana Takamiya, this world would've already been crushed under her heel.

If she ever truly let loose...

the world would learn what it meant to be dominated for an eternity.